Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0Kensington’s library runs 428 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Kensington Community/School Library serves Kensington’s 404 residents. Last year it lent 7,338 books, movies and e-books and logged 6,315 visits.
The short version on Kensington’s library
Programs are almost all for children
97% of the 173 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kensington uses its library more than almost any town its size
Kensington Community/School Library logs 16 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Seven times the programs of a typical library its size
Kensington Community/School Library ran 173 programs last year, about 3 a week. That’s 428 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 2,049 attended. Kids & programs ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 64% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 20 items per child in Kensington last year. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 6 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. It’s 33% 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 Kensington’s civic life grade
Kensington 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 →
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 Kensington 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.
Kensington Community/School Library serves 404 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
7,338 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
2,439 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Kensington Community/School Library, 203 South Jackson, Kensington.
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 Kensington? 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 $4.82 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kensington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $26K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $125K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $26K 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 392 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Kensington’s 6,315 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
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 Kensington
Does Kensington have a public library?
Yes. Kensington Community/School Library, 203 South Jackson, serves Kensington’s 404 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Kensington Community/School 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 Kensington’s library?
It logged 15.6 visits and lent 18.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Kensington’s civic life grade?
Kensington 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 Kensington.
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.