Mulvane’s library logs 8.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Mulvane Public Library serves Mulvane’s 6,936 residents. Last year it lent 51K books, movies and e-books and logged 56K visits.
Mulvane’s library, in brief
People come to Mulvane Public Library a lot
Mulvane Public Library logs 8.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 90% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 5.9 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Mulvane Public Library ran 681 programs last year, about 13 a week. That’s 98 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 17,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone in Mulvane has a card
6,027 cards for 6,936 people, or 87%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 58% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 81% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Mulvane invests in its library
Mulvane Public Library spends $95 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (95%) 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.
What’s behind Mulvane’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Mulvane is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #39 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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Mulvane
3.9 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.0%
9.0% of Mulvane’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 Mulvane’s residents live; 2022.
About 8 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 Mulvane last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Mulvane Public Library serves 6,936 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
51K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 28K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time last year, on average.
9,637 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Mulvane Public Library, 408 N. 2nd Ave., Mulvane.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Mulvane? 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 $1.37 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mulvane cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $656K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $900K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $656K 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 6,027 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mulvane | Mulvane Public Library | 7.3 | 51 | A− |
| Belle Plaine Township | Belle Plaine Public Library | 1.9 | 33 | C+ |
| Gore 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Mulvane Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Mulvane
Does Mulvane have a public library?
Yes. Mulvane Public Library, 408 N. 2nd Ave., serves Mulvane’s 6,936 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mulvane Public 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 Mulvane’s library?
It logged 8.1 visits and lent 7.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Mulvane’s civic life grade?
A− Mulvane is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on civic life, #39 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 Mulvane.
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.