Photo: Coemgenus · CC BY-SA 3.0Ogallala’s library lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Kathleen Lute Public Library serves Ogallala’s 4,680 residents. Last year it lent 64K books, movies and e-books and logged 21K visits.
Ogallala’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
6,632 cards for 4,680 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 ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.7 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. It’s 27% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Ogallala is a town of borrowers
Kathleen Lute Public Library lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 91% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 101 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1 a week for ages 0–5. 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 Ogallala’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Ogallala is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #21 of 55 in Nebraska. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Ogallala’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 →
55 community nonprofits are registered in Ogallala
11.5 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.6%
7.6% of Ogallala’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 Ogallala’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.
Kathleen Lute Public Library serves 4,680 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
64K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 56K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
17,540 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Ogallala last year.
Find it
Kathleen Lute Public Library, 610 West A Street, Ogallala.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Ogallala? 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 $2.78 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ogallala cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $371K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $371K 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 6,632 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 Ogallala
Does Ogallala have a public library?
Yes. Kathleen Lute Public Library, 610 West A Street, serves Ogallala’s 4,680 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Kathleen Lute 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 Ogallala’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 13.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Ogallala’s civic life grade?
A− Ogallala is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on civic life, #21 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 Ogallala.
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.