La Cygne’s library runs 160 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Library District #2 , Linn County serves La Cygne’s 2,678 residents. Last year it lent 18K books, movies and e-books and logged 27K visits.
The short version on La Cygne’s library
More library cards than residents
9,630 cards for 2,678 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 ↓
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Library District #2 , Linn County ran 428 programs last year, about 8 a week. That’s 160 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 12,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
People come to Library District #2 , Linn County a lot
Library District #2 , Linn County logs 9.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 94% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 5.4 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
La Cygne invests in its library
Library District #2 , Linn County spends $229 per resident a year, about five times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (96%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
A place to get online
Library District #2 , Linn County logs about 45 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 6 public computers. That’s 6.1 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 La Cygne’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, La Cygne is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns. La Cygne is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($44K–$74K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in La Cygne
3.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.6%
6.6% of La Cygne’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 La Cygne’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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 La Cygne last year.
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.
Library District #2 , Linn County serves 2,678 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
18K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 44K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
3,432 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Library District #2 , Linn County, 209 N. Broadway, Lacygne.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in La Cygne? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average La Cygne cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $614K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $438K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $614K 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 9,630 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Cygne | Library District #2 , Linn County fine-free | 6.6 | 45 | C |
| Lincoln Township | Library District #2 , Linn County fine-free | 6.6 | 45 | C |
| Scott 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 La Cygne
Does La Cygne have a public library?
Yes. Library District #2 , Linn County, 209 N. Broadway, serves La Cygne’s 2,678 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Library District #2 , Linn County 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 La Cygne’s library?
It logged 9.9 visits and lent 6.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is La Cygne’s civic life grade?
C La Cygne is ahead of 25% 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 La Cygne.
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.