Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Wichita’s library runs 3.7 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Wichita Public Library serves Wichita’s 396,119 residents from 7 locations. Last year it lent 1.7M books, movies and e-books and logged 647K visits.
Wichita’s library, in brief
Seven places to borrow in Wichita
Wichita Public Library runs seven locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
40% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 40% of loans. Print still makes up 60%, much of it kids’ books. 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.
What’s behind Wichita’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Wichita is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns, #135 of 149 in Kansas. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #246. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Wichita’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Wichita’s 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($48K–$81K) 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 →
1,258 community nonprofits are registered in Wichita
3.2 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 (458 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 51 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.7%
5.7% of Wichita’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 Wichita’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Wichita Public Library serves 396,119 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 97 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
40% of borrowing is digital
1.7M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 620K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
679,470 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 14 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 Wichita last year.
7 places to borrow in Wichita
Advanced Learning Library, 711 W 2nd St. N, Wichita.
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 Wichita? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Wichita
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.13 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wichita cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $12M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $26M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $12M 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 285,484 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Wichita ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attica Township | Goddard Public Library | 8.7 | 47 | B− |
| Wichita | Advanced Learning Library fine-free | 4.3 | 57 | C− |
| Kechi Township | Park City Public Library | 3.8 | 51 | D |
| Minneha Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Riverside Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Waco Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Park Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Gypsum Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Maize | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| McConnell AFB | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Payne 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Wichita Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Wichita
Does Wichita have a public library?
Yes. Wichita Public Library, 711 W 2nd St. N, serves Wichita’s 396,119 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wichita 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 Wichita’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 4.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Wichita’s civic life grade?
C− Wichita is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns on civic life, #135 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 Wichita.
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.