Independent Township’s library runs 138 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Independent Township serves Independent Township’s 645 residents. Last year it lent 4,546 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,225 visits.
What Independent Township’s library is like
A small-town library
Independent Township serves 645 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Open only about 19 hours a week
Independent Township keeps short hours: about 19 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Above typical on nearly every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Independent Township is above the middle on six of the seven per-resident measures we compare, and close to it on the other, with three in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Kansas pays a big share
23% of the budget comes from the state, and 63% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
51% of the 89 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 39 were for children. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Independent Township’s civic life grade
Independent Township 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Independent Township serves 645 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
4,546 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,829 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
1,631 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
89 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Independent Township last year.
Find it
Independent Township, 108 Main, Claflin.
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 Independent Township? 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 $1.94 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Independent Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $40K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $78K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $40K 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 327 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent Township | Independent Township fine-free | 7.0 | 19 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Claflin | Independent Township fine-free | 7.0 | 19 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Logan Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Cheyenne Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Valley Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Cleveland 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.
- 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 Independent Township
Does Independent Township have a public library?
Yes. Independent Township, 108 Main, serves Independent Township’s 645 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 19 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Independent Township 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 Independent Township’s library?
It logged 5.0 visits and lent 7.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Independent Township’s civic life grade?
Independent Township 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 Independent Township.
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.