Jefferson Township’s library lends 7.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Winchester Public Library serves Jefferson Township’s 1,070 residents. Last year it lent 12K books, movies and e-books and logged 4,459 visits.
What Jefferson Township’s library is like
Jefferson Township out-borrows every town next door
At 11 loans per resident, Jefferson Township leads the five towns here. The closest is Union Township, at 7.5. Libraries next door ↓
Kansas pays a big share
36% of the budget comes from the state, and 50% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 69% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 33 items per child in Jefferson Township last year. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Winchester Public Library serves 1,070 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 36 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 ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.1 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. It’s 28% of all loans. 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 Jefferson Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Jefferson Township is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Jefferson Township
5.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: health.
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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.3%
11.3% of Jefferson Township’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 Jefferson Township’s residents live; 2022.
145 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 Jefferson Township last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Winchester Public Library serves 1,070 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
12K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 8,589 books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
3,295 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Winchester Public Library, 203 Fourth Street, Winchester.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Jefferson 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 $2.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Jefferson Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $60K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $174K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $60K 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 854 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Jefferson Township borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Township | Winchester Public Library fine-free | 11.0 | 36 | A |
| Union Township | Mclouth Public Library fine-free | 7.5 | 35 | B− |
| Norton Township | Nortonville Public Library fine-free | 6.4 | 32 | — graded with its twin city |
| Delaware Township | Delaware Township Library fine-free | 5.8 | 45 | A |
| Oskaloosa Township | Oskaloosa Public Library fine-free | 4.4 | 40 | A |
| Easton Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
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 Jefferson Township
Does Jefferson Township have a public library?
Yes. Winchester Public Library, 203 Fourth Street, serves Jefferson Township’s 1,070 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Winchester 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 Jefferson Township’s library?
It logged 4.2 visits and lent 11.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Jefferson Township’s civic life grade?
A Jefferson Township is ahead of 87% 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 Jefferson 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.