Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Scott City’s library runs 62 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Scott County Library serves 4,922 people in and around Scott City. Last year it logged 22K visits.
Scott City’s library, in brief
Programs draw a crowd
12,000 people came to the system’s 306 programs last year: 2.4 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 306 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
4,249 cards for 4,922 people, or 86%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
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; Scott County Library serves 4,922 people in and around Scott City, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Scott City’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Scott City is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #20 of 149 in Kansas. Scott City is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Scott City
4.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
16.9%
16.9% of Scott City’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 Scott City’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Scott County Library serves 4,922 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
A year at Scott County Library
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Scott County Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: print loans. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Find it
Scott County Library, 110 W. 8th St., Scott City.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Scott County Library branch.
New in Scott City? 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 Scott City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $178K.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 4,249 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: print loans. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Scott County Library serves 4,922 people in and around Scott City, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Scott City.
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 Scott City
Does Scott City have a public library?
Yes. Scott County Library, 110 W. 8th St., serves 4,922 people in and around Scott City (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Scott County Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Scott City’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Scott City’s civic life grade?
A Scott City is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on civic life, #20 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 Scott City.
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.