Halstead Santa Fe Depot · Photo: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company · Public domainHalstead’s library runs 29 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Halstead Public Library serves Halstead’s 2,138 residents. Last year it lent 14K books, movies and e-books and logged 6,553 visits.
Halstead’s library, in brief
Programs are almost all for children
98% of the 63 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 40 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Halstead Public Library serves 2,138 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 36 hours a week. 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 ↓
44% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 44% of loans, more per resident than at 85% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 56%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
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 Halstead’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Halstead is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. Halstead’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Halstead
4.8 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.1%
8.1% of Halstead’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 Halstead’s residents live; 2022.
44% of borrowing is digital
14K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
6,079 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.
Halstead Public Library serves 2,138 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 1 kids’ program a week
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 Halstead last year.
Find it
Halstead Public Library, 264 Main, Halstead.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Halstead? 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 $1.94 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Halstead cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $109K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $212K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $109K 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 1,483 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halstead | Halstead Public Library fine-free | 6.5 | 36 | B |
| Halstead Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lakin 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.
- 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 Halstead
Does Halstead have a public library?
Yes. Halstead Public Library, 264 Main, serves Halstead’s 2,138 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Halstead 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 Halstead’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 6.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Halstead’s civic life grade?
B Halstead is ahead of 60% 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 Halstead.
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.