Photo: Public domain · Public domainLiberal’s library is a branch of Barton County Library, which lends less per resident than 60% of systems its size
Liberal’s library is the Happy & Mary Curless Library, a branch of Barton County Library, which serves 11,637 people and lent 45K items last year.
What Liberal’s library is like
Few programs for a library this size
The Barton County Library system offered 105 programs last year, 9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
10,060 cards for 11,637 people, or 86%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. 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; Liberal’s library is a branch of Barton County Library, so they cover the whole system (11,637 people), not just the Liberal branch.
What’s behind Liberal’s civic life grade
Liberal 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Barton County Library serves 11,637 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Barton County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
45K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
7,819 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
105 programs a year
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.
Find it
Happy & Mary Curless Library, 201 S. Main, Liberal.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Barton County Library branch.
New in Liberal? 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 $2.36 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Liberal cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $319K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $752K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $319K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 10,060 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Happy & Mary Curless Library is one branch of Barton County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 11,637 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 Liberal
Does Liberal have a public library?
Yes: Happy & Mary Curless Library, 201 S. Main, is a branch of Barton County Library, which serves 11,637 people. The branch is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Barton County Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Liberal’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 3.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Liberal’s civic life grade?
Liberal 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 Liberal.
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.