Photo: RandyBlankenshipp · CC BY-SA 4.0Erlanger’s library runs 37 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Kenton County Public Library serves 171,321 people in and around Erlanger from 2 locations. Last year it lent 2M books, movies and e-books and logged 609K visits.
The short version on Erlanger’s library
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Kenton County Public Library ran 6,291 programs last year, about 121 a week. That’s 37 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 154,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Kenton County Public Library logs 3.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 7.5 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 86% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.5 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. It’s 38% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Open about 68 hours a week
The Erlanger branch is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
A well-funded system
Kenton County Public Library spends $80 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 for a library its size. Almost all of it (97%) comes from local taxes. 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; Kenton County Public Library serves 171,321 people in and around Erlanger, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Erlanger’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Erlanger is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns, #81 of 126 in Kentucky. Erlanger is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Erlanger’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($57K–$95K) 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 →
63 community nonprofits are registered in Erlanger
3.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (18 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.3%
6.3% of Erlanger’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.6% in the typical Kentucky 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 Erlanger’s residents live; 2022.
About 66 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Kenton County Public Library serves 171,321 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 193 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Kenton County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
768,378 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Erlanger
Kenton County Public Library, 3095 Hulbert Ave., Erlanger.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Kenton County Public Library branch.
New in Erlanger? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Kenton County Public Library branches in Erlanger
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.36 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Erlanger cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $14M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $32M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $14M 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 119,029 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erlanger | Kenton County Public Library fine-free | — | 68 | C |
| Florence | Florence Branch fine-free | — | 55 | C− |
| Crescent Springs | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Independence | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Villa Hills | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Edgewood | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Elsmere | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Covington | None of its own | — | — | B− |
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. Kenton County Public Library serves 171,321 people in and around Erlanger, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Erlanger.
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 Erlanger
Does Erlanger have a public library?
Yes. Kenton County Public Library, 3095 Hulbert Ave., serves 171,321 people in and around Erlanger (the survey’s count) and is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Kenton County 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 Erlanger’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 11.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Erlanger’s civic life grade?
C Erlanger is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns on civic life, #81 of 126 in Kentucky. 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 Erlanger.
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.