Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainAtkinson’s library lends 25 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Atkinson Public Library serves Atkinson’s 1,310 residents. Last year it lent 41K books, movies and e-books and logged 24K visits.
Atkinson’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
1,598 cards for 1,310 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 ↓
Atkinson uses its library more than almost any town its size
Atkinson Public Library logs 18 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 25 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 38% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 32 items per child in Atkinson last year. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 6.6 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. It’s 21% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A small-town library
Atkinson Public Library serves 1,310 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 41 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 ↓
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 Atkinson’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Atkinson is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Atkinson’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
Atkinson Public Library logged 18.1 visits per resident in FY2024, #40 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare. The survey counts every visit, residents or not, and libraries don’t report how many come from out of town.
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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Atkinson
18.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.6%
9.6% of Atkinson’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical Nebraska 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 Atkinson’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Atkinson Public Library serves 1,310 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
41K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 24K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
8,708 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 Atkinson last year.
Find it
Atkinson Public Library, 210 West State Street, Atkinson.
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 Atkinson? 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 $4.37 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Atkinson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $152K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $665K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $152K 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 1,598 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Atkinson’s 23,707 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
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 Atkinson
Does Atkinson have a public library?
Yes. Atkinson Public Library, 210 West State Street, serves Atkinson’s 1,310 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Atkinson 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 Atkinson’s library?
It logged 18.1 visits and lent 31.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Atkinson’s civic life grade?
A+ Atkinson is ahead of 98% 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 Atkinson.
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.