Photo: The original uploader was Toytoy at Wikipedia. · Public domainLewis’ library runs 20 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Meadowlark Library/Lewis serves 458 people in and around Lewis. Last year it lent 1,003 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,613 visits.
Lewis’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Meadowlark Library/Lewis sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Meadowlark Library/Lewis serves 458 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
Open only about 19 hours a week
Meadowlark Library/Lewis keeps short hours: about 19 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Kansas pays a big share
35% of the budget comes from the state, and 63% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A place to get online
Meadowlark Library/Lewis logs about 8 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 2 public computers. That’s 6.4 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Lewis’ civic life grade
Lewis 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Meadowlark Library/Lewis serves 458 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,003 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
80 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
9 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Meadowlark Library/Lewis, 208 Main St., Lewis.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Lewis? 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 Lewis cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $29K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $26K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $29K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 202 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Lewis
Does Lewis have a public library?
Yes. Meadowlark Library/Lewis, 208 Main St., serves 458 people in and around Lewis (the survey’s count) and is open about 19 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Meadowlark Library/Lewis fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Lewis’ library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 2.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Lewis’ civic life grade?
Lewis 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 Lewis.
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.