Franklin R. Lanter House · Photo: Rmprit · CC BY-SA 3.0Olathe’s library logs 4.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size
Olathe Public Library serves Olathe’s 147,461 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 1.6M books, movies and e-books and logged 612K visits.
What Olathe’s library is like
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 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 21 items per child in Olathe last year. Kids & programs ↓
Olathe uses its library more than almost any town its size
Olathe Public Library logs 4.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 8.5 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 205,000 items on the shelves went out about 6.1 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
Open about 64 hours a week
The main library is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 246 items go out. The buildings ↓
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 Olathe’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Olathe is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #89 of 149 in Kansas. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #91. Library visits hold the grade up; Olathe’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
392 community nonprofits are registered in Olathe
2.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (140 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 19 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.2%
8.2% of Olathe’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 Olathe’s residents live; 2022.
About 7 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 Olathe last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Olathe Public Library serves 147,461 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 246 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1.6M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 205K books and other items on the shelves went out about 6.1 times last year, on average.
389,381 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Olathe
Olathe Downtown Library, 260 E. Santa Fe St., Olathe.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Olathe? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Olathe
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.68 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Olathe cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $8.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $24M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.8M 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 51,167 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olathe | Olathe Downtown Library fine-free | 11.1 | 64 | B− |
| Lenexa | Lenexa City Center fine-free | — | 65 | B |
| Overland Park | Johnson County Library fine-free | — | 65 | B− |
| Gardner | Gardner Library fine-free | — | 61 | C+ |
| De Soto | De Soto Library fine-free | — | 35 | B |
| Lexington Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Oxford Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Spring Hill Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Gardner Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Aubry 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.
- 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 Olathe
Does Olathe have a public library?
Yes. Olathe Public Library, 260 E. Santa Fe St., serves Olathe’s 147,461 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Olathe 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 Olathe’s library?
It logged 4.2 visits and lent 11.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Olathe’s civic life grade?
B− Olathe is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on civic life, #89 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 Olathe.
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.