Carry A. Nation House · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Medicine Lodge’s library logs 15 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Lincoln Library serves 1,707 people in and around Medicine Lodge. Last year it lent 25K books, movies and e-books and logged 25K visits.
What Medicine Lodge’s library is like
Medicine Lodge uses its library more than almost any town its size
Lincoln Library logs 15 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
77% of the 233 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 46 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 44% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
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 Medicine Lodge’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Medicine Lodge is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. Medicine Lodge is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Medicine Lodge near the top nationally; Medicine Lodge’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 →
19 community nonprofits are registered in Medicine Lodge
12.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.4%
12.4% of Medicine Lodge’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 Medicine Lodge’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Lincoln Library serves 1,707 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
25K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
4,504 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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.
Find it
Lincoln Library, 201 N. Main, Medicine Lodge.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Medicine Lodge? 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 $2.29 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Medicine Lodge cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $176K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $402K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $176K 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 1,120 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 Medicine Lodge
Does Medicine Lodge have a public library?
Yes. Lincoln Library, 201 N. Main, serves 1,707 people in and around Medicine Lodge (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lincoln 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 Medicine Lodge’s library?
It logged 14.9 visits and lent 14.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Medicine Lodge’s civic life grade?
A+ Medicine Lodge is among the top 1% 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 Medicine Lodge.
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.