Hiawatha National Guard Armory · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Hiawatha’s library runs 158 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Hiawatha/Morrill Public Library serves Hiawatha’s 3,190 residents. Last year it lent 34K books, movies and e-books and logged 19K visits.
Hiawatha’s library, in brief
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Hiawatha/Morrill Public Library ran 505 programs last year, about 10 a week. That’s 158 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 5,509 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
40% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 48%. What your card is worth ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 52% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 18 items per child in Hiawatha last year. Kids & programs ↓
Hiawatha invests in its library
Hiawatha/Morrill Public Library spends $144 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Nearly everyone in Hiawatha has a card
2,704 cards for 3,190 people, or 85%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. 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.
What’s behind Hiawatha’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hiawatha is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #8 of 149 in Kansas. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Hiawatha’s count of community nonprofits ranks 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 →
41 community nonprofits are registered in Hiawatha
12.7 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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.9%
9.9% of Hiawatha’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 Hiawatha’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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 Hiawatha 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.
Hiawatha/Morrill Public Library serves 3,190 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
34K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 32K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
6,575 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Hiawatha/Morrill Public Library, 431 Oregon, Hiawatha.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hiawatha? 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 $1.21 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hiawatha cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $460K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $557K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $460K 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 2,704 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 Hiawatha
Does Hiawatha have a public library?
Yes. Hiawatha/Morrill Public Library, 431 Oregon, serves Hiawatha’s 3,190 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hiawatha/Morrill 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 Hiawatha’s library?
It logged 6.0 visits and lent 10.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hiawatha’s civic life grade?
A Hiawatha is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on civic life, #8 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 Hiawatha.
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.