Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainO'Neill’s library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
O'Neill Public Library serves O'Neill’s 3,575 residents. Last year it lent 56K books, movies and e-books and logged 25K visits.
The short version on O'Neill’s library
O'Neill uses its library more than almost any town its size
O'Neill Public Library logs 7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 86% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 47% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 23 items per child in O'Neill last year. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in Nebraska for borrowing
O'Neill ranks #4 of 41 Nebraska towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 12 items per resident, more than at 95% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
O'Neill Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2018. Today’s library there has 7,000 square feet. The building ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.2 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. It’s 21% of all loans. 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 O'Neill’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, O'Neill is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns, #25 of 55 in Nebraska. O'Neill’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
28 community nonprofits are registered in O'Neill
7.8 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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.6%
5.6% of O'Neill’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 O'Neill’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
O'Neill Public Library serves 3,575 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
56K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 62K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
11,601 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
37 programs a year
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 O'Neill last year.
A National Register landmark since 2018
O'Neill Public Library, 601 E. Douglas St., O'Neill.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in O'Neill? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
O'Neill Carnegie Library
O'Neill Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jul 13, 2018. It is significant for its education at the local level. It was listed as part of Carnegie Libraries in Nebraska MPS.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.12 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average O'Neill cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $266K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $829K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $266K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 2,573 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 O'Neill
Does O'Neill have a public library?
Yes. O'Neill Public Library, 601 E. Douglas St., serves O'Neill’s 3,575 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is O'Neill Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is O'Neill’s library?
It logged 7.0 visits and lent 15.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is O'Neill’s civic life grade?
B+ O'Neill is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on civic life, #25 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 O'Neill.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.