Photo: Art davis · CC BY-SA 4.0Potwin’s library lends 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Potwin Public Library serves 595 people in and around Potwin. Last year it lent 636 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,787 visits.
What Potwin’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Potwin Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Potwin Public Library serves 595 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
Open only about 19 hours a week
Potwin Public Library keeps short hours: about 19 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Kansas pays a big share
22% of the budget comes from the state, and 69% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Potwin Public Library lends 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, fewer than 90% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. 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 Potwin’s civic life grade
Potwin 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Potwin Public Library serves 595 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Potwin Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
636 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 5,928 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
2 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
21 programs a year
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.
Find it
Potwin Public Library, 126 N. Randall, Potwin.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Potwin? 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 Potwin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $21K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $12K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $21K 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 207 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Potwin
Does Potwin have a public library?
Yes. Potwin Public Library, 126 N. Randall, serves 595 people in and around Potwin (the survey’s count) and is open about 19 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Potwin 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 Potwin’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 1.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Potwin’s civic life grade?
Potwin 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 Potwin.
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.