Everest’s library runs 2.2 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Barnes Reading Room serves 458 people in and around Everest. Last year it lent 4,920 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,312 visits.
The short version on Everest’s library
Kansas pays a big share
64% of the budget comes from the state, and 31% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most of Everest’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 57% of loans, more per resident than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 43%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Barnes Reading Room offered 1 programs last year, 2.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Barnes Reading Room serves 458 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Barnes Reading Room keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Everest’s civic life grade
Everest isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
57% of borrowing is digital
4,920 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 7,359 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
2,791 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Barnes Reading Room serves 458 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
1 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Barnes Reading Room, 640 Main Street, Everest.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Everest? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $4.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Everest cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $17K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $71K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $17K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 192 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Everest
Does Everest have a public library?
Yes. Barnes Reading Room, 640 Main Street, serves 458 people in and around Everest (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Barnes Reading Room fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Everest’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 10.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Everest’s civic life grade?
Everest isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Everest.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.