Mount Pleasant Township’s library runs 136 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Altamont Public Library serves 1,047 people in and around Mount Pleasant Township. Last year it lent 2,348 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,096 visits.
Mount Pleasant Township’s library, in brief
A small-town library
Altamont Public Library serves 1,047 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 26 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 ↓
Most programs are for young children
73% of the 142 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kansas pays a big share
21% of the budget comes from the state, and 71% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Mount Pleasant Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Mount Pleasant Township is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns. Mount Pleasant Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Mount Pleasant Township
6.6 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
15.0%
15.0% of Mount Pleasant 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 Mount Pleasant Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Altamont Public Library serves 1,047 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2,348 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,032 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
141 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, 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
Altamont Public Library, 407 Huston Ave, Altamont.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Mount Pleasant 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 $1.01 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mount Pleasant Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $39K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $39K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $39K 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 246 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Mount Pleasant Township ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elm Grove Township | Edna Public Library fine-free | 8.5 | 26 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Mound Valley Township | Mound Valley Library fine-free | 5.6 | 49 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Mount Pleasant Township | Altamont Public Library fine-free | 2.2 | 26 | A+ |
| Fairview Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Canada 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.
- 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 Mount Pleasant Township
Does Mount Pleasant Township have a public library?
Yes. Altamont Public Library, 407 Huston Ave, serves 1,047 people in and around Mount Pleasant Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Altamont 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 Mount Pleasant Township’s library?
It logged 2.0 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 Mount Pleasant Township’s civic life grade?
A+ Mount Pleasant Township is ahead of 97% 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 Mount Pleasant 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.