Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainPawnee City’s library runs 566 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Pawnee City Public Library serves Pawnee City’s 846 residents. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and logged 9,661 visits.
The short version on Pawnee City’s library
More library cards than residents
1,094 cards for 846 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Nine times the programs of a typical library its size
Pawnee City Public Library ran 479 programs last year, about 9 a week. That’s 566 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 3,716 attended. Kids & programs ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 60% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 27 items per child in Pawnee City last year. Kids & programs ↓
Pawnee City uses its library more than almost any town its size
Pawnee City Public Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Pawnee City Public Library serves 846 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 43 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Pawnee City’s civic life grade
Pawnee City isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
About 7 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 Pawnee City last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Pawnee City Public Library serves 846 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
1,967 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
A National Register landmark since 2010
Pawnee City Public Library, 735 8th Street, Pawnee City.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Pawnee City? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Pawnee City Carnegie Library
Pawnee City Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec 10, 2010. It is significant for its education, social history and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival. It was listed as part of Carnegie Libraries in Nebraska MPS; Carnegie Libraries in Nebraska MPS.
The Pawnee City Carnegie Library is a historic building in Pawnee City, Nebraska, and a Carnegie library. Its erection was initially rejected by the voters of Pawnee City in 1905, despite the promise of a $7,000 donation from Andrew Carnegie. It was built in 1908, and designed in the Classical Revival architectural style. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since December 10, 2010.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.57 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pawnee City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $125K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $196K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $125K 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 1,094 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 Pawnee City
Does Pawnee City have a public library?
Yes. Pawnee City Public Library, 735 8th Street, serves Pawnee City’s 846 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pawnee City 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 Pawnee City’s library?
It logged 11.4 visits and lent 13.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Pawnee City’s civic life grade?
Pawnee City isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Pawnee 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. 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.