Union Township’s library logs 7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Mclouth Public Library serves 835 people in and around Union Township. Last year it lent 6,231 books, movies and e-books and logged 5,811 visits.
Union Township’s library, in brief
Kansas pays a big share
43% of the budget comes from the state, and 57% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Mclouth Public Library serves 835 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 35 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 ↓
Programs draw a crowd
3,213 people came to the library’s 112 programs last year: 3.8 per resident, against a typical 0.7, more than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 62% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 74% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. It’s 39% of all loans. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Union Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Union Township is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns. Union Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Union Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
3 community nonprofits are registered in Union Township
1.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.7%
12.7% of Union Township’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 Union Township’s residents live; 2022.
112 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Mclouth Public Library serves 835 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
6,231 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 4,290 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
2,449 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Mclouth Public Library, 215 South Union, Mclouth.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Union Township? 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 $2.23 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Union Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $54K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $121K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $54K 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 655 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Union Township ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Township | Winchester Public Library fine-free | 11.0 | 36 | A |
| Tonganoxie Township | Tonganoxie Public Library fine-free | 8.5 | 66 | — graded with its twin city |
| Union Township | Mclouth Public Library fine-free | 7.5 | 35 | B− |
| Oskaloosa Township | Oskaloosa Public Library fine-free | 4.4 | 40 | A |
| Alexandria Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sarcoxie Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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.
- 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 Union Township
Does Union Township have a public library?
Yes. Mclouth Public Library, 215 South Union, serves 835 people in and around Union Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mclouth Public 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 Union Township’s library?
It logged 7.0 visits and lent 7.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Union Township’s civic life grade?
B− Union Township is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Union Township.
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.