Ira Webster Olive House · Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainLexington’s library runs 32 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Lexington Public Library serves Lexington’s 10,816 residents. Last year it lent 30K books, movies and e-books and logged 32K visits.
Lexington’s library, in brief
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Lexington Public Library holds 50,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
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 Lexington’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Lexington is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns, #48 of 55 in Nebraska. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Lexington’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($51K–$85K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
38 community nonprofits are registered in Lexington
3.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (17 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.7%
4.7% of Lexington’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 Lexington’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Lexington Public Library serves 10,816 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. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
30K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 50K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
11,159 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 Lexington last year.
Find it
Lexington Public Library, 907 North Washington Street, Lexington.
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 Lexington? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lexington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $543K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $518K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $543K 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 4,367 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Lexington
Does Lexington have a public library?
Yes. Lexington Public Library, 907 North Washington Street, serves Lexington’s 10,816 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lexington 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 Lexington’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 2.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Lexington’s civic life grade?
C− Lexington is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns on civic life, #48 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 Lexington.
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.