Riley’s library runs 107 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Riley City Library serves Riley’s 929 residents. Last year it lent 4,018 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,449 visits.
The short version on Riley’s library
A small-town library
Riley City Library serves 929 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 25 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 ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 69% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 71% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
72% of the 99 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kansas pays a big share
20% of the budget comes from the state, and 75% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A place to get online
Riley City Library logs about 12 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 8 public computers. That’s 4.7 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Riley’s civic life grade
Riley 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 1 kids’ program 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 Riley 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.
Riley City Library serves 929 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
4,018 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 4,784 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
585 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Riley City Library, 115 S. Broadway St., Riley.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Riley? 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 $2.67 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Riley cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $33K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $87K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $33K 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 572 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 Riley
Does Riley have a public library?
Yes. Riley City Library, 115 S. Broadway St., serves Riley’s 929 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Riley 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 Riley’s library?
It logged 4.8 visits and lent 4.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Riley’s civic life grade?
Riley 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 Riley.
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.