Kirwin City Hall · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Kirwin’s library logs 29 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Kirwin City Library serves Kirwin’s 131 residents. Last year it lent 4,285 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,742 visits.
The short version on Kirwin’s library
Kirwin uses its library more than almost any town its size
Kirwin City Library logs 29 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 27 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 99% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 82% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Kansas pays a big share
57% of the budget comes from the state, and 25% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Ten times the programs of a typical library its size
Kirwin City Library ran 82 programs last year, about 2 a week. That’s 626 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 2,327 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 6.1 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. It’s 19% 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 Kirwin’s civic life grade
Kirwin 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 1 kids’ program 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Kirwin City Library serves 131 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
4,285 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 5,839 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
795 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Kirwin City Library, 1st and Main, Kirwin.
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 Kirwin? 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 $4.97 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kirwin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $16K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $80K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $16K 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 80 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Kirwin’s 3,742 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 Kirwin
Does Kirwin have a public library?
Yes. Kirwin City Library, 1st and Main, serves Kirwin’s 131 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Kirwin City 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 Kirwin’s library?
It logged 28.6 visits and lent 32.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Kirwin’s civic life grade?
Kirwin 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 Kirwin.
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.