West Plains Township’s library logs 6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Plains Community Library serves 1,382 people in and around West Plains Township. Last year it lent 3,118 books, movies and e-books and logged 8,278 visits.
The short version on West Plains Township’s library
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 74% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 19%. The building also logs about 11 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
A small-town library
Plains Community Library serves 1,382 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 38 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 ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 72% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 54% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 77 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 26 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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 West Plains Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, West Plains Township is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns. West Plains Township is graded on two of the three inputs. West Plains Township’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($54K–$90K) 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 West Plains Township
5.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.2%
4.2% of West Plains 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 West Plains Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Plains Community Library serves 1,382 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
3,118 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
797 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
77 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.
Find it
Plains Community Library, 500 Grand Ave., Plains.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in West Plains Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Plains Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $138K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $63K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $138K 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 977 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meade Center Township | Meade Public Library fine-free | 8.6 | 37 | A+ |
| West Plains Township | Plains Community Library fine-free | 2.3 | 38 | C+ |
| Mertilla Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Cimarron Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 West Plains Township
Does West Plains Township have a public library?
Yes. Plains Community Library, 500 Grand Ave., serves 1,382 people in and around West Plains Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Plains Community 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 West Plains Township’s library?
It logged 6.0 visits and lent 2.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is West Plains Township’s civic life grade?
C+ West Plains Township is ahead of 38% 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 West Plains 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.