Photo: Art davis · CC BY-SA 4.0Fredonia’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Fredonia Public Library serves Fredonia’s 2,073 residents. Last year it lent 101K books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
Fredonia’s library, in brief
Most of Fredonia’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 78% of loans, more per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 22%. What people borrow ↓
More library cards than residents
2,513 cards for 2,073 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 ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Fredonia Public Library offered 11 programs last year, 5.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
27% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 67%. What your card is worth ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 45% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 28 items per child in Fredonia last year. 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 Fredonia’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Fredonia is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Fredonia’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
23 community nonprofits are registered in Fredonia
11.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.7%
13.7% of Fredonia’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.7% in the typical Kansas town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Fredonia’s residents live; 2022.
78% of borrowing is digital
101K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 27K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
78,163 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 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Fredonia Public Library serves 2,073 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 39 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
11 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Fredonia last year.
Find it
Fredonia Public Library, 807 Jefferson St., Fredonia.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Fredonia? 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 $8.35 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Fredonia cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $180K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $180K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 2,513 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Fredonia Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Fredonia
Does Fredonia have a public library?
Yes. Fredonia Public Library, 807 Jefferson St., serves Fredonia’s 2,073 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Fredonia Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Fredonia’s library?
It logged 5.3 visits and lent 48.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Fredonia’s civic life grade?
A+ Fredonia is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on civic life. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Fredonia.
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.