Clark County Courthouse · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0Kahoka’s library is a branch of Northeast Missouri Library Service, which lends less per resident than 82% of systems its size
Kahoka’s library is the H.E. Sever Memorial Library, a branch of Northeast Missouri Library Service, which serves 17,686 people and lent 36K items last year.
What Kahoka’s library is like
The Northeast Missouri Library Service system is used less than most libraries its size
The Northeast Missouri Library Service system records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $20 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Northeast Missouri Library Service system offered 40 programs last year, 2.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Kahoka’s library is a branch of Northeast Missouri Library Service, so they cover the whole system (17,686 people), not just the Kahoka branch.
What’s behind Kahoka’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Kahoka is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns. Kahoka is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Kahoka’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Kahoka
8.7 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.2%
11.2% of Kahoka’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 9.3% in the typical Missouri 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 Kahoka’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Northeast Missouri Library Service serves 17,686 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Northeast Missouri Library Service system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
36K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
7,480 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
40 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
H.E. Sever Memorial Library, 207 W Chestnut St., Kahoka.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Northeast Missouri Library Service branch.
New in Kahoka? 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 $1.61 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kahoka cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $358K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $578K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $358K 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 2,257 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. H.E. Sever Memorial Library is one branch of Northeast Missouri Library Service, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 17,686 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 Kahoka
Does Kahoka have a public library?
Yes: H.E. Sever Memorial Library, 207 W Chestnut St., is a branch of Northeast Missouri Library Service, which serves 17,686 people. The branch is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Northeast Missouri Library Service 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 Kahoka’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Kahoka’s civic life grade?
A+ Kahoka is ahead of 97% 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 Kahoka.
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.