Formoso’s library lends 25 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Formoso Public Library serves Formoso’s 90 residents. Last year it lent 3,118 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,238 visits.
The short version on Formoso’s library
More library cards than residents
134 cards for 90 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Kansas pays a big share
63% of the budget comes from the state, and 35% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Formoso uses its library more than almost any town its size
Formoso Public Library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 25 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 94% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Open only about 10 hours a week
Formoso Public Library keeps short hours: about 10 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 51% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
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 Formoso’s civic life grade
Formoso 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 →
19 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Formoso Public Library serves 90 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: spending. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
3,118 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 5,048 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
879 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Formoso Public Library, 108 Main, Formoso.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Formoso? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Formoso cardholder borrows.
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 134 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: spending. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 Formoso
Does Formoso have a public library?
Yes. Formoso Public Library, 108 Main, serves Formoso’s 90 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 10 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Formoso Public Library 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 Formoso’s library?
It logged 13.8 visits and lent 34.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Formoso’s civic life grade?
Formoso 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 Formoso.
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.