Photo: Ichabod · CC BY-SA 3.0Paola’s library lends 7.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Paola Free Library serves Paola’s 5,780 residents. Last year it lent 51K books, movies and e-books and logged 32K visits.
The short version on Paola’s library
More library cards than residents
5,753 cards for 5,780 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Top 10% in Kansas for kids’ borrowing
Paola ranks #5 of 70 Kansas towns with a library of their own for children’s items borrowed per child. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 54% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 23 items per child in Paola last year. Kids & programs ↓
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 Paola’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Paola is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #38 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Paola
4.4 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.4%
9.4% of Paola’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 Paola’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Paola Free Library serves 5,780 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 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 29K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time last year, on average.
8,373 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 Paola last year.
Find it
Paola Free Library, 101 East Peoria, Paola.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Paola? 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 $1.88 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Paola cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $442K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $831K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $442K 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 5,753 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paola | Paola Free Library fine-free | 8.9 | 54 | A− |
| Paola Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Marysville Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Valley Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
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 Paola
Does Paola have a public library?
Yes. Paola Free Library, 101 East Peoria, serves Paola’s 5,780 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Paola Free 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 Paola’s library?
It logged 5.5 visits and lent 8.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Paola’s civic life grade?
A− Paola is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on civic life, #38 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 Paola.
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.