Patterson Law Office · Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainCentral City’s library logs 18 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Central City Public Library serves Central City’s 3,090 residents. Last year it lent 80K books, movies and e-books and logged 55K visits.
Central City’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
3,946 cards for 3,090 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Central City borrows more library books per person than any town in Nebraska
Out of 41 Nebraska towns with a library of their own, Central City comes first for items borrowed per resident. It’s also #1 for kids’ borrowing and #2 for library use. How it compares ↓
Central City uses its library more than almost any town its size
Central City Public Library logs 18 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 23 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 99% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Central City Public Library ran 397 programs last year, about 8 a week. That’s 128 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 12,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 37% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 40 items per child in Central City last year. 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.
What’s behind Central City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Central City is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #7 of 55 in Nebraska. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank highest.
Central City Public Library logged 17.7 visits per resident in FY2024, #43 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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in Central City
5.4 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.3%
10.3% of Central City’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 Central City’s residents live; 2022.
About 5 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 Central City last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Central City Public Library serves 3,090 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 31 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
80K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.3 times last year, on average.
7,955 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Central City Public Library, 1604 15th Avenue, Central City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Central City? 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 $4.29 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Central City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $316K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $316K 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 3,946 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Central City’s 54,680 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Central City Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Central City
Does Central City have a public library?
Yes. Central City Public Library, 1604 15th Avenue, serves Central City’s 3,090 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Central City 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 Central City’s library?
It logged 17.7 visits and lent 26.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Central City’s civic life grade?
A Central City is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on civic life, #7 of 55 in Nebraska. 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 Central City.
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.