Milton Township’s library lends 39 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Whitewater Memorial Library serves 664 people in and around Milton Township. Last year it lent 27K books, movies and e-books and logged 13K visits.
Milton Township’s library, in brief
Milton Township uses its library more than almost any town its size
Whitewater Memorial Library logs 20 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 39 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 97% 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 64% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Whitewater Memorial Library serves 664 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 33 hours a week. 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 ↓
Programs lean toward adults
63% of the 90 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 24 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 6% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 17% of similar-size libraries. The print collection works hard: each item went out about 2.1 times last year. What people borrow ↓
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 Milton Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Milton Township is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns. Milton Township 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 ($41K–$68K) 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 Milton Township
3.3 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.4%
7.4% of Milton Township’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 Milton Township’s residents live; 2022.
90 programs a year
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Whitewater Memorial Library serves 664 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
27K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.1 times last year, on average.
1,776 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Whitewater Memorial Library, 118 East Topeka, Whitewater.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Milton Township? 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 $5.52 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Milton Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $72K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $397K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $72K 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 520 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Milton Township borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milton Township | Whitewater Memorial Library | 41.4 | 33 | C+ |
| Whitewater | Whitewater Memorial Library | 41.4 | 33 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Plum Grove Township | Potwin Public Library fine-free | 1.1 | 19 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Richland Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Murdock Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Fairmount 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.
- Visits count everyone. Milton Township’s 13,029 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
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 Milton Township
Does Milton Township have a public library?
Yes. Whitewater Memorial Library, 118 East Topeka, serves 664 people in and around Milton Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Whitewater Memorial Library 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 Milton Township’s library?
It logged 19.6 visits and lent 41.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Milton Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Milton Township is ahead of 40% 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 Milton Township.
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.