Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainLoup City’s library runs 51 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Loup City Library serves 2,983 people in and around Loup City. Last year it lent 17K books, movies and e-books and logged 12K visits.
Loup City’s library, in brief
Programs are almost all for children
83% of the 153 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 67% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 79% of similar-size libraries. 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; Loup City Library serves 2,983 people in and around Loup City, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Loup City’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Loup City is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. Loup City is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Loup City’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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Loup City
15.8 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.4%
11.4% of Loup 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 Loup City’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Loup City Library serves 2,983 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Loup City Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
17K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,340 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, 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
Loup City Library, 800 North 8th Street, Loup City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Loup City Library branch.
New in Loup 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 $1.91 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Loup City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $133K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $253K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $133K 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 1,822 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Loup City Library serves 2,983 people in and around Loup City, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Loup City.
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 Loup City
Does Loup City have a public library?
Yes. Loup City Library, 800 North 8th Street, serves 2,983 people in and around Loup City (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Loup City 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 Loup City’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 5.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Loup City’s civic life grade?
A+ Loup City 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 Loup 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.