Photo: Ichabod · CC BY-SA 3.0Osage City’s library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Osage City Public Library serves Osage City’s 2,814 residents. Last year it lent 27K books, movies and e-books and logged 38K visits.
The short version on Osage City’s library
Osage City ranks 3rd in Kansas for library use
Out of 70 Kansas towns with a library of their own, Osage City comes 3rd for visits per resident. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Osage City Public Library ran 324 programs last year, about 6 a week. That’s 115 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 4,538 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Programs are almost all for children
82% of the 324 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.7 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Osage City invests in its library
Osage City Public Library spends $88 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. 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 Osage City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Osage City is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #13 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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Osage City
4.1 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.
13.6%
13.6% of Osage City’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 Osage City’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
Osage City Public Library serves 2,814 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
27K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
4,908 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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 Osage City last year.
Find it
Osage City Public Library, 515 Main St., Osage City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Osage City? 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 $1.94 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Osage City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $249K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $483K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $249K 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 2,178 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osage City | Osage City Public Library fine-free | 9.6 | 51 | A |
| Superior Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Grant 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 Osage City
Does Osage City have a public library?
Yes. Osage City Public Library, 515 Main St., serves Osage City’s 2,814 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Osage City 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 Osage City’s library?
It logged 13.5 visits and lent 9.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Osage City’s civic life grade?
A Osage City is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #13 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 Osage City.
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.