Photo: Ichabod · CC BY-SA 4.0Oskaloosa Township’s library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Oskaloosa Public Library serves Oskaloosa Township’s 2,160 residents. Last year it lent 9,546 books, movies and e-books and logged 22K visits.
Oskaloosa Township’s library, in brief
Kansas pays a big share
39% of the budget comes from the state, and 59% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
People come to Oskaloosa Public Library a lot
Oskaloosa Public Library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 90% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 3.9 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
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 Oskaloosa Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Oskaloosa Township is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. 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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Oskaloosa Township
5.5 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.3%
10.3% of Oskaloosa 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 Oskaloosa Township’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Oskaloosa Public Library serves 2,160 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
9,546 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
1,042 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Oskaloosa Township last year.
Find it
Oskaloosa Public Library, 315 Jefferson St., Oskaloosa.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Oskaloosa 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 $1.98 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Oskaloosa Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $91K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $180K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $91K 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 1,301 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Oskaloosa Township ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Township | Winchester Public Library fine-free | 11.0 | 36 | A |
| Union Township | Mclouth Public Library fine-free | 7.5 | 35 | B− |
| Oskaloosa Township | Oskaloosa Public Library fine-free | 4.4 | 40 | A |
| Rural Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Fairview Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Ozawkie Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Kentucky 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. Oskaloosa 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 Oskaloosa Township
Does Oskaloosa Township have a public library?
Yes. Oskaloosa Public Library, 315 Jefferson St., serves Oskaloosa Township’s 2,160 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Oskaloosa 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 Oskaloosa Township’s library?
It logged 10.0 visits and lent 4.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Oskaloosa Township’s civic life grade?
A Oskaloosa Township 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 Oskaloosa 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.