Photo: Art davis · CC BY-SA 4.0Hamilton’s library runs 298 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Hamilton City Library serves Hamilton’s 181 residents. Last year it lent 5,360 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,773 visits.
The short version on Hamilton’s library
More library cards than residents
224 cards for 181 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 ↓
Most of Hamilton’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 67% of loans, more per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 33%. What people borrow ↓
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Hamilton City Library ran 54 programs last year, about 1 a week. That’s 298 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 523 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kansas pays a big share
45% of the budget comes from the state, and 55% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Hamilton uses its library more than almost any town its size
Hamilton City Library logs 9.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 9.7 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 86% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
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 Hamilton’s civic life grade
Hamilton 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 →
67% of borrowing is digital
5,360 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,123 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
3,611 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Hamilton City Library serves 181 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.
54 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
Hamilton City Library, 21 E. Main, Hamilton.
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 Hamilton? 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 $6.13 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hamilton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $14K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $88K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $14K 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 224 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 Hamilton
Does Hamilton have a public library?
Yes. Hamilton City Library, 21 E. Main, serves Hamilton’s 181 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 17 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hamilton 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 Hamilton’s library?
It logged 9.8 visits and lent 29.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Hamilton’s civic life grade?
Hamilton 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 Hamilton.
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.