Photo: Kswx29 · CC BY 3.0St. Marys’ library runs 18 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional Library serves 28,587 people in and around St. Marys. Last year it lent 110K books, movies and e-books and logged 31K visits.
What St. Marys’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
82% of the 518 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.6 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional Library records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, below 88% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 3.4 print items per resident. 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; Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional Library serves 28,587 people in and around St. Marys, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind St. Marys’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, St. Marys is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns, #115 of 149 in Kansas. St. Marys is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; St. Marys’ count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($58K–$96K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in St. Marys
2.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.7%
7.7% of St. Marys’ 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 St. Marys’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional Library serves 28,587 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
110K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
12,912 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 8 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.
Find it
Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional Library, 306 N. 5th Street, St. Marys.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional Library branch.
New in St. Marys? 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 $2.75 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average St. Marys cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $806K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $806K 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 8,207 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional Library serves 28,587 people in and around St. Marys, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just St. Marys.
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 St. Marys
Does St. Marys have a public library?
Yes. Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional Library, 306 N. 5th Street, serves 28,587 people in and around St. Marys (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional 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 St. Marys’ library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 3.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is St. Marys’ civic life grade?
C St. Marys is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on civic life, #115 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 St. Marys.
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.