Prairie View’s library runs 1,101 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Sunshine City Library serves Prairie View’s 99 residents. Last year it lent 1,061 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,741 visits.
Prairie View’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
141 cards for 99 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
18 times the programs of a typical library its size
Sunshine City Library ran 109 programs last year, about 2 a week. That’s 1,101 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 950 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 11 hours a week
Sunshine City Library keeps short hours: about 11 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Prairie View uses its library more than almost any town its size
Sunshine City Library logs 18 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 10 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kansas pays a big share
44% of the budget comes from the state, and 45% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
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 Prairie View’s civic life grade
Prairie View 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 →
109 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Sunshine City Library serves 99 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
1,061 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 4,272 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
25 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Sunshine City Library, 207 Kansas, Prairie View.
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 Prairie View? 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 $2.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Prairie View cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $11K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $25K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $11K 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 141 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie View | Sunshine City Library fine-free | 10.7 | 11 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Prairie View Township | Sunshine City Library fine-free | 10.7 | 11 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Beaver Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Visits count everyone. Prairie View’s 1,741 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
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 Prairie View
Does Prairie View have a public library?
Yes. Sunshine City Library, 207 Kansas, serves Prairie View’s 99 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 11 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sunshine City 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 Prairie View’s library?
It logged 17.6 visits and lent 10.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Prairie View’s civic life grade?
Prairie View 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 Prairie View.
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.