Hepler’s library logs 28 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Hepler City Library serves Hepler’s 92 residents. Last year it lent 574 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,546 visits.
What Hepler’s library is like
More library cards than residents
163 cards for 92 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 ↓
12 times the programs of a typical library its size
Hepler City Library ran 67 programs last year, about 1 a week. That’s 728 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 1,605 attended. Kids & programs ↓
People come to Hepler City Library a lot
Hepler City Library logs 28 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 99% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 5.9 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Kansas pays a big share
41% of the budget comes from the state, and 37% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Open only about 16 hours a week
Hepler City Library keeps short hours: about 16 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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 Hepler’s civic life grade
Hepler 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 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 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Hepler City Library serves 92 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Hepler City Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
574 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 5,298 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
33 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Hepler City Library, 105 S. Prairie, Hepler.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hepler? 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 $2.11 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hepler cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $12K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $25K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $12K 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 163 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Hepler’s 2,546 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 Hepler
Does Hepler have a public library?
Yes. Hepler City Library, 105 S. Prairie, serves Hepler’s 92 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 16 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hepler City 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 Hepler’s library?
It logged 27.7 visits and lent 6.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Hepler’s civic life grade?
Hepler 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 Hepler.
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.