Pomona’s library runs 270 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Pomona Community Library serves Pomona’s 890 residents. Last year it lent 2,352 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,580 visits.
The short version on Pomona’s library
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Pomona Community Library ran 240 programs last year, about 5 a week. That’s 270 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Programs are almost all for children
87% of the 240 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 0 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Pomona Community Library serves 890 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 38 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Kansas pays a big share
30% of the budget comes from the state, and 70% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 71% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 59% 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Pomona’s civic life grade
Pomona isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
About 4 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Pomona last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Pomona Community Library serves 890 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2,352 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,301 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
108 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Pomona Community Library, 115 E. Franklin St., Pomona.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Pomona? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pomona cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $86K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $48K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $86K 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 466 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Pomona Community 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 Pomona
Does Pomona have a public library?
Yes. Pomona Community Library, 115 E. Franklin St., serves Pomona’s 890 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pomona Community 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 Pomona’s library?
It logged 4.0 visits and lent 2.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Pomona’s civic life grade?
Pomona isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Pomona.
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.