Grant County Courthouse District · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Ulysses’ library runs 105 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Grant County Library serves 7,147 people in and around Ulysses. Last year it lent 60K books, movies and e-books and logged 29K visits.
What Ulysses’s library is like
More library cards than residents
14,260 cards for 7,147 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Grant County Library ran 747 programs last year, about 14 a week. That’s 105 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 11,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
58% of the 747 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 162 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 1% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 90% of similar-size libraries. 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; Grant County Library serves 7,147 people in and around Ulysses, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Ulysses’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ulysses is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #40 of 149 in Kansas. Ulysses 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 →
23 community nonprofits are registered in Ulysses
4.2 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 (15 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.4%
10.4% of Ulysses’ 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 Ulysses’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Grant County Library serves 7,147 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 26 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Grant County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
60K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
648 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Grant County Library, 215 E. Grant Ave., Ulysses.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Grant County Library branch.
New in Ulysses? 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 $1.81 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ulysses cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $597K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $597K budget.
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 14,260 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Grant County Library serves 7,147 people in and around Ulysses, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Ulysses.
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 Ulysses
Does Ulysses have a public library?
Yes. Grant County Library, 215 E. Grant Ave., serves 7,147 people in and around Ulysses (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Grant 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 Ulysses’ library?
It logged 4.0 visits and lent 8.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Ulysses’ civic life grade?
A− Ulysses is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on civic life, #40 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 Ulysses.
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.