Photo: SharonPapierdreams · CC BY-SA 4.0White City’s library logs 9.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
White City Public Library serves 445 people in and around White City. Last year it lent 2,585 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,299 visits.
What White City’s library is like
More library cards than residents
502 cards for 445 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Busy on a lean budget
White City Public Library spends $28 per resident, less than 84% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). It’s still busier than 75% of them. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
White City Public Library serves 445 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 28 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 ↓
People come to White City Public Library a lot
White City Public Library logs 9.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 89% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 4.8 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Kansas pays a big share
22% of the budget comes from the state, and 62% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
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 White City’s civic life grade
White City isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
White City Public Library serves 445 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2,585 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
450 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
34 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
White City Public Library, 111 E Mackenzie, White City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in White City? 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 $5.25 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average White City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $12K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $65K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $12K 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 502 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 White City
Does White City have a public library?
Yes. White City Public Library, 111 E Mackenzie, serves 445 people in and around White City (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is White City 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 White City’s library?
It logged 9.7 visits and lent 5.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is White City’s civic life grade?
White City isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in White City.
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.