Photo: 25or6to4 · CC BY-SA 4.0Neodesha’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Neodesha/W.A. Rankin Memorial serves Neodesha’s 2,196 residents. Last year it lent 27K books, movies and e-books and logged 12K visits.
What Neodesha’s library is like
Nearly everyone in Neodesha has a card
2,126 cards for 2,196 people, or 97%. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Neodesha is a town of borrowers
Neodesha/W.A. Rankin Memorial lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 90% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
29% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 64%. What your card is worth ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 7% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 52% of similar-size libraries. 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 Neodesha’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Neodesha is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. All three 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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Neodesha
5.2 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
24.3%
24.3% of Neodesha’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 Neodesha’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
27K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 26K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
1,987 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Neodesha/W.A. Rankin Memorial serves 2,196 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
28 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Neodesha last year.
Find it
Neodesha/W.A. Rankin Memorial, 502 Indiana, Neodesha.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Neodesha? 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 $3.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Neodesha cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $126K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $446K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $126K 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 2,126 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 Neodesha
Does Neodesha have a public library?
Yes. Neodesha/W.A. Rankin Memorial, 502 Indiana, serves Neodesha’s 2,196 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Neodesha/W.A. Rankin Memorial 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 Neodesha’s library?
It logged 5.4 visits and lent 12.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Neodesha’s civic life grade?
A Neodesha is ahead of 93% 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 Neodesha.
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.