Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainBurwell’s library runs 12 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Garfield County Library serves 1,763 people in and around Burwell. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and logged 3,525 visits.
Burwell’s library, in brief
Open only about 21 hours a week
The Burwell branch keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Garfield County Library offered 21 programs last year, 12 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
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; Garfield County Library serves 1,763 people in and around Burwell, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Burwell’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Burwell is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns. Burwell is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Burwell’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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Burwell
14.6 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.4%
9.4% of Burwell’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 Burwell’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Garfield County Library serves 1,763 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Garfield County Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,773 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
21 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
Garfield County Library, 217 G Street, Burwell.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Garfield County Library branch.
New in Burwell? 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 $2.11 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Burwell cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $75K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $159K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $75K 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 1,246 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Garfield County Library serves 1,763 people in and around Burwell, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Burwell.
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 Burwell
Does Burwell have a public library?
Yes. Garfield County Library, 217 G Street, serves 1,763 people in and around Burwell (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Garfield County 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 Burwell’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 6.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Burwell’s civic life grade?
A+ Burwell is ahead of 95% 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 Burwell.
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.