Photo: United States Census Bureau, modified by User:FUBAR007 · Public domainUnion Township’s library lends 7.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Colwich Community Library serves Union Township’s 2,498 residents. Last year it lent 19K books, movies and e-books and logged 15K visits.
Union Township’s library, in brief
Programs are almost all for children
97% of the 100 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.7 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 79% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 19 items per child in Union Township last year. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Colwich Community Library serves 2,498 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 34 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 ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 2% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 77% 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; 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 library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Union Township is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns, #53 of 149 in Kansas. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Union Township
4.9 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.2%
7.2% 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.
About 2 kids’ programs 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 Union Township last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Colwich Community Library serves 2,498 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
19K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
346 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Colwich Community Library, 432 W Colwich, Colwich.
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 $2.43 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 $111K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $269K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $111K 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 1,037 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attica Township | Goddard Public Library | 8.7 | 47 | B− |
| Union Township | Colwich Community Library | 7.6 | 34 | B+ |
| Sherman Township | Andale District Library | — | 15 | C− |
| Park Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Eagle Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Maize | 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. Colwich Community Library, 432 W Colwich, serves Union Township’s 2,498 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Colwich Community 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 Union Township’s library?
It logged 6.2 visits and lent 7.6 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 74% of U.S. towns on civic life, #53 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 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.