Photo: Skrunyon · CC BY-SA 4.0Pittsburg’s library lends 6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Pittsburg Public Library serves Pittsburg’s 20,504 residents. Last year it lent 157K books, movies and e-books and logged 77K visits.
Pittsburg’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
24,615 cards for 20,504 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Pittsburg Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1977. Today’s library there has 28,000 square feet. The building ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 64% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 82% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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 Pittsburg’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Pittsburg is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #63 of 149 in Kansas. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Pittsburg’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
92 community nonprofits are registered in Pittsburg
4.5 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 (31 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.
8.4%
8.4% of Pittsburg’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 Pittsburg’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Pittsburg Public Library serves 20,504 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 50 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
157K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 71K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
33,255 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 Pittsburg last year.
A National Register landmark since 1977
Pittsburg Public Library, 308 North Walnut, Pittsburg.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Pittsburg? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Pittsburg Public Library
Pittsburg Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Nov 9, 1977. It is significant for its education and architecture at the state level.
The Pittsburg Public Library is a public library in Pittsburg, Kansas, United States. A part of the Southeast Kansas Library System, it circulates a collection of over 70,000 items. Its Prairie Style building was built in 1910 through a donation from Andrew Carnegie. Today, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.39 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pittsburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1M 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 24,615 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburg | Pittsburg Public Library fine-free | 7.7 | 59 | B+ |
| Washington Township | Arma City Library fine-free | 2.5 | 33 | B− |
| Baker Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Frontenac | 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 Pittsburg
Does Pittsburg have a public library?
Yes. Pittsburg Public Library, 308 North Walnut, serves Pittsburg’s 20,504 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pittsburg 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 Pittsburg’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 7.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Pittsburg’s civic life grade?
B+ Pittsburg is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on civic life, #63 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 Pittsburg.
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.