Photo: Kaethesson · CC BY-SA 3.0Parsons’ library lends 8.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Parsons Public Library serves Parsons’s 9,362 residents. Last year it lent 97K books, movies and e-books and logged 48K visits.
Parsons’s library, in brief
The library is a National Register landmark
Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976. Today’s library there has 18,000 square feet. The building ↓
Programs draw a crowd
21,000 people came to the library’s 449 programs last year: 2.2 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
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 89% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 21 items per child in Parsons 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 Parsons’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Parsons is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #17 of 149 in Kansas. 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 →
58 community nonprofits are registered in Parsons
6.2 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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
11.6%
11.6% of Parsons’ 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 Parsons’ residents live; 2022.
About 3 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 Parsons last year.
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.
Parsons Public Library serves 9,362 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 38 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
97K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 38K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.1 times last year, on average.
18,279 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
A National Register landmark since 1976
Parsons Public Library, 311 S 17th Street, Parsons.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Parsons? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Carnegie Library
Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Apr 14, 1976. It is significant for its architecture at the local level.
The Carnegie Library in Parsons, Kansas is a building from 1909. The Carnegie library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The Parsons Public Library moved out to a larger facility in 1977. The building is now home to the Carnegie Arts Center, which hosts art shows and community events.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.55 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Parsons cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $453K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $453K 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 5,638 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parsons | Parsons Public Library fine-free | 10.4 | 49 | A |
| North Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Osage Township | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
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 Parsons
Does Parsons have a public library?
Yes. Parsons Public Library, 311 S 17th Street, serves Parsons’ 9,362 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Parsons 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 Parsons’ library?
It logged 5.1 visits and lent 10.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Parsons’ civic life grade?
A Parsons is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life, #17 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 Parsons.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.