Photo: Ichabod · CC BY-SA 3.0Kingman’s library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Kingman Carnegie Library serves Kingman’s 2,890 residents. Last year it lent 16K books, movies and e-books and logged 29K visits.
The short version on Kingman’s library
More library cards than residents
3,862 cards for 2,890 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Top 10% in Kansas for library use
Kingman ranks #7 of 70 Kansas towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 10 visits per resident, more than at 94% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Kingman Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1987. Today’s library there has 6,500 square feet. The building ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 62% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 67% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 183 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.7 a week for ages 0–5. 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.
What’s behind Kingman’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Kingman is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #6 of 149 in Kansas. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Kingman
5.8 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.0%
11.0% of Kingman’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 Kingman’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Kingman Carnegie Library serves 2,890 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
16K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 28K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
5,058 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 Kingman last year.
A National Register landmark since 1987
Kingman Carnegie Library, 455 North Main, Kingman.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Kingman? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Kingman Carnegie Library
Kingman Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jun 25, 1987. 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.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.26 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kingman cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $212K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $268K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $212K 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 3,862 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingman | Kingman Carnegie Library fine-free | 5.6 | 49 | A |
| Ninnescah Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| White 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 Kingman
Does Kingman have a public library?
Yes. Kingman Carnegie Library, 455 North Main, serves Kingman’s 2,890 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Kingman Carnegie 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 Kingman’s library?
It logged 10.0 visits and lent 5.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Kingman’s civic life grade?
A Kingman is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on civic life, #6 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 Kingman.
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. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.