Photo: Kevin Zollman Kzollman 22:00, 4 May 2006 (UTC) · CC BY-SA 3.0Manhattan’s library logs 7.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Manhattan Public Library serves Manhattan’s 53,682 residents. Last year it lent 676K books, movies and e-books and logged 397K visits.
Manhattan’s library, in brief
Manhattan ranks 2nd in Kansas for kids’ borrowing
Out of 70 Kansas towns with a library of their own, Manhattan comes 2nd for children’s items borrowed per child. How it compares ↓
Manhattan uses its library more than almost any town its size
Manhattan Public Library logs 7.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 8.6 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 85% 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 60% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 35 items per child in Manhattan last year. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. It’s 31% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Manhattan Carnegie Library Building has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1987. Today’s library there has 76,828 square feet. The building ↓
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 Manhattan’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Manhattan is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #21 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 →
319 community nonprofits are registered in Manhattan
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 (64 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 8 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.4%
9.4% of Manhattan’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 Manhattan’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 178 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Manhattan Public Library serves 53,682 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
676K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 125K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.7 times last year, on average.
212,079 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 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 Manhattan last year.
A National Register landmark since 1987
Manhattan Public Library, 629 Poyntz Avenue, Manhattan.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Manhattan? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Manhattan Carnegie Library Building
Manhattan Carnegie Library Building 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.
The Manhattan Carnegie Library Building in Manhattan, Kansas, United States, is a Carnegie Library built in 1904. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. It is a two-story rusticated limestone block building, about 25 by 50 feet (7.6 m × 15.2 m) in plan, with Classical Revival style. It is now used as the annex for the Riley County Courthouse.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Manhattan cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $10M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.4M 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 29,962 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manhattan | Manhattan Public Library fine-free | 12.6 | 73 | A |
| Madison Township | Riley City Library fine-free | 4.3 | 25 | C− |
| Manhattan Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Ogden Township | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Blue Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Wildcat Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Ogden | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
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 Manhattan
Does Manhattan have a public library?
Yes. Manhattan Public Library, 629 Poyntz Avenue, serves Manhattan’s 53,682 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 73 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Manhattan Public 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 Manhattan’s library?
It logged 7.4 visits and lent 12.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Manhattan’s civic life grade?
A Manhattan is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on civic life, #21 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 Manhattan.
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; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.