Photo: Mark Michalovic · CC BY-SA 3.0Inman’s library lends 9.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Inman Public Library serves Inman’s 1,320 residents. Last year it lent 14K books, movies and e-books and logged 6,583 visits.
The short version on Inman’s library
More library cards than residents
1,667 cards for 1,320 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 ↓
A small-town library
Inman Public Library serves 1,320 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 33 hours a week. 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 ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 49% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 23 items per child in Inman last year. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
65% of the 75 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 18 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 5% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 64% 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Inman’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Inman is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns. Inman’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Inman
7.6 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.1%
7.1% of Inman’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 Inman’s residents live; 2022.
75 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 Inman last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Inman Public Library serves 1,320 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
14K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
694 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Inman Public Library, 100 N. Main, Inman.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Inman? 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 $2.47 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Inman cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $87K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $214K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $87K 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 1,667 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 Inman
Does Inman have a public library?
Yes. Inman Public Library, 100 N. Main, serves Inman’s 1,320 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Inman 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 Inman’s library?
It logged 5.0 visits and lent 10.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Inman’s civic life grade?
A− Inman is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Inman.
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.