Photo: 25or6to4 · CC BY-SA 4.0Independence’s library runs 41 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Independence Public Library serves 12,003 people in and around Independence. Last year it lent 40K books, movies and e-books and logged 43K visits.
What Independence’s library is like
Open about 98 hours a week
The Independence branch is open about 98 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Independence Public Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1988. Today’s library there has 23,100 square feet. The building ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
10,446 cards for 12,003 people, or 87%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
55% of the 490 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 134 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 6% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 91% of similar-size libraries. 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; Independence Public Library serves 12,003 people in and around Independence, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Independence’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Independence is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #35 of 149 in Kansas. Independence is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Independence’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 →
53 community nonprofits are registered in Independence
6.3 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 (31 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.4%
8.4% of Independence’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 Independence’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Independence Public Library serves 12,003 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Independence Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
40K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,345 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
A National Register landmark since 1988
Independence Public Library, 220 East Maple, Independence.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Independence Public Library branch.
New in Independence? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Independence Public Carnegie Library
Independence Public Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan 11, 1988. It is significant for its education, architecture and social history at the local level. It was listed as part of Carnegie Libraries of Kansas TR.
Independence Public Library (IPL) is a small public library that has stood in the same location for more than 100 years, in Independence, Kansas. Today the library serves over thirteen thousand local residents and works in partnership with several other Kansas libraries and agencies. Its motto is "creating possibilities, changing lives."
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.13 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Independence cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $604K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $684K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $604K 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 10,446 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independence | Independence Public Library fine-free | — | 98 | A− |
| Independence Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Sycamore Township | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
| Drum Creek 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.
- System-wide. Independence Public Library serves 12,003 people in and around Independence, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Independence.
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 Independence
Does Independence have a public library?
Yes. Independence Public Library, 220 East Maple, serves 12,003 people in and around Independence (the survey’s count) and is open about 98 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Independence 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 Independence’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 3.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Independence’s civic life grade?
A− Independence is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #35 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 Independence.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.