Gove Township’s library logs 30 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Gove City Library serves 80 people in and around Gove Township. Last year it lent 1,211 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,400 visits.
Gove Township’s library, in brief
Gove Township uses its library more than almost any town its size
Gove City Library logs 30 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 14 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 9 hours a week
Gove City Library keeps short hours: about 9 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 63% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Kansas pays a big share
50% of the budget comes from the state, and 50% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Gove City Library serves 80 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 ↓
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 Gove Township’s civic life grade
Gove Township 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Gove City Library serves 80 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1,211 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 5,485 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
54 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
10 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.
Find it
Gove City Library, 301 Sherman St., Gove.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Gove Township? 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 $1.29 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gove Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $13K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $17K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $13K 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 5 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Gove Township borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gove Township | Gove City Library fine-free | 15.1 | 9 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Grainfield Township | Grainfield City Library fine-free | 8.7 | 7 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Grinnell Township | Moore Family Library fine-free | 1.0 | 6 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Gaeland Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Payne Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lewis Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Jerome Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Gove Township’s 2,400 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
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 Gove Township
Does Gove Township have a public library?
Yes. Gove City Library, 301 Sherman St., serves 80 people in and around Gove Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 9 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Gove City 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 Gove Township’s library?
It logged 30.0 visits and lent 15.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Gove Township’s civic life grade?
Gove Township 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 Gove Township.
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.