Photo: Ian Ballinger · CC BY-SA 4.0Louisburg’s library lends 6.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Library District #1, Miami County serves 9,980 people in and around Louisburg. Last year it lent 73K books, movies and e-books and logged 51K visits.
The short version on Louisburg’s library
More library cards than residents
15,153 cards for 9,980 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 ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 62% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
57% of the 319 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 118 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Library District #1, Miami County spends $103 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. All of it comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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; Library District #1, Miami County serves 9,980 people in and around Louisburg, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Louisburg’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Louisburg is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #28 of 149 in Kansas. Louisburg is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Louisburg’s count of community nonprofits ranks 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 →
30 community nonprofits are registered in Louisburg
5.9 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.0%
9.0% of Louisburg’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 Louisburg’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Library District #1, Miami County serves 9,980 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Library District #1, Miami County system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
73K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
10,249 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, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
Library District #1, Miami County, 206 S. Broadway St., Louisburg.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Library District #1, Miami County branch.
New in Louisburg? 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 $1.08 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Louisburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1M 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 15,153 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisburg | Library District #1, Miami County fine-free | — | 56 | A− |
| Wea Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Middle Creek Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
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.
- System-wide. Library District #1, Miami County serves 9,980 people in and around Louisburg, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Louisburg.
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 Louisburg
Does Louisburg have a public library?
Yes. Library District #1, Miami County, 206 S. Broadway St., serves 9,980 people in and around Louisburg (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Library District #1, Miami 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 Louisburg’s library?
It logged 5.1 visits and lent 7.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Louisburg’s civic life grade?
A− Louisburg is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on civic life, #28 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 Louisburg.
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.