Photo: JonHarder · CC BY-SA 3.0Hesston’s library lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Hesston Public Library serves Hesston’s 3,473 residents. Last year it lent 72K books, movies and e-books and logged 43K visits.
Hesston’s library, in brief
Hesston borrows more library books per person than any town in Kansas
Out of 70 Kansas towns with a library of their own, Hesston comes first for items borrowed per resident. It’s also #1 for kids’ borrowing and #5 for library use. How it compares ↓
Hesston uses its library more than almost any town its size
Hesston Public Library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 15 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 96% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 62% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 39 items per child in Hesston last year. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 5.6 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. It’s 27% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Programs draw a crowd
7,874 people came to the library’s 253 programs last year: 2.3 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 97% of similar-size libraries. 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.
What’s behind Hesston’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hesston is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #22 of 149 in Kansas. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Hesston
4.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.5%
9.5% of Hesston’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 Hesston’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 kids’ programs 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 Hesston last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Hesston Public Library serves 3,473 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 28 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
72K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 49K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
19,447 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Hesston Public Library, 300 N. Main St., Hesston.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hesston? 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 $3.43 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hesston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $323K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $323K 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 2,576 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 Hesston
Does Hesston have a public library?
Yes. Hesston Public Library, 300 N. Main St., serves Hesston’s 3,473 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hesston 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 Hesston’s library?
It logged 12.4 visits and lent 20.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hesston’s civic life grade?
A Hesston is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on civic life, #22 of 149 in Kansas. 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 Hesston.
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.