Wathena Fruit Growers' Association Building · Photo: Kristi Bender · CC BY-SA 3.0Wathena’s library is a branch of Library District #1, Doniphan County, which lends less per resident than 68% of systems its size
Wathena’s library is the Wathena Branch Library, a branch of Library District #1, Doniphan County, which serves 6,971 people and lent 18K items last year.
The short version on Wathena’s library
Programs are almost all for children
94% of the 201 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
The Library District #1, Doniphan County system spends $90 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (95%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 2% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 92% 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; Wathena’s library is a branch of Library District #1, Doniphan County, so they cover the whole system (6,971 people), not just the Wathena branch.
What’s behind Wathena’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Wathena is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns. Wathena is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Wathena’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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Wathena
3.7 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.3%
8.3% of Wathena’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 Wathena’s residents live; 2022.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wathena cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $630K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $290K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $630K 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 2,520 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Library District #1, Doniphan County serves 6,971 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Library District #1, Doniphan County system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
18K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
328 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
Find it
Wathena Branch Library, 401 S. St. Joseph St., Wathena.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Library District #1, Doniphan County branch.
New in Wathena? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wathena | Wathena Branch Library fine-free | — | 44 | B |
| Elwood | Elwood Branch Library fine-free | — | 44 | — too few inputs |
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.
- System-wide. Wathena Branch Library is one branch of Library District #1, Doniphan County, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 6,971 people it serves.
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 Wathena
Does Wathena have a public library?
Yes: Wathena Branch Library, 401 S. St. Joseph St., is a branch of Library District #1, Doniphan County, which serves 6,971 people. The branch is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Library District #1, Doniphan County 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 Wathena’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 2.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Wathena’s civic life grade?
B Wathena is ahead of 57% 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 Wathena.
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.