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Rising City, Nebraska Main Street 4Photo: Ammodramus · Public domain
Rising City Community Library

Rising City’s library lends 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size

Rising City Community Library serves 510 people in and around Rising City. Last year it lent 412 books, movies and e-books and logged 717 visits.

250 Garhan Avenue, Rising City 68658 · about 12 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
412
0.8 per resident
Visits a year
717
1.4 per resident · Below typical (3.5)
Programs & events
31
about 1 a week · 144 attended
Cardholders
15%
74 cards
Open
12 hrs
a week
In brief

The short version on Rising City’s library

Rising City Community Library is used less than most libraries its size

Rising City Community Library records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓

Open only about 12 hours a week

Rising City Community Library keeps short hours: about 12 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓

A small-town library

Rising City Community Library serves 510 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓

Few residents carry a card

Only 15% of the people Rising City Community Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓

Rising City Community Library serves more than Rising City

The library’s service area covers 510 people in and around Rising City, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓

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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Rising City’s civic life grade

Rising City isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Rising City’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.4 visits · typical 3.5Lower than 86%
Borrowing per resident 0.6 print items · typical 3.9Bottom 10%
Digital borrowing 0.2 e-items · typical 1Lower than 74%
Kids’ borrowing 0.2 kids’ items · typical 1.4Lower than 88%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.7Lower than 74%
Programs offered 60.8 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Higher than 51%
Cardholders 15% of residents · typical 54%Bottom 10%
Spending $42 per resident · typical $54Lower than 65%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Rising City Community Library serves 510 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

A year at the library

A year at Rising City Community Library

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

717
visits
1.4 per resident
412
loans, print + digital
0.8 per resident
31
programs & events
144 attended
74
library cards
15% of people served
Every open hour1items borrowed
Every week3people at a program
Every week14visits
1 public computers3,169 books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

412 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

412loans
Books & media (adults) 41%Kids’ books & media 30%E-books, audio & streaming 29%
How hard the shelves work
0.1×

Each of the 3,169 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.

From your couch

118 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

31 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Rising City →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–510
Ages 6–1110
Teens0
Adults8
All ages3
Little ones
0.2

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

124
kids’ books & media borrowed
144
people at programs
31
programs
The building

Find it

Rising City Community Library, 250 Garhan Avenue, Rising City.

12
hours open a week
1,500
square feet
3,169
books & media
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Rising City? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rising City cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$42 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $21K.

Local taxes 82%State 4%Gifts & other 14%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $7,588 worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $21K 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 74 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

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 Rising City

Does Rising City have a public library?

Yes. Rising City Community Library, 250 Garhan Avenue, serves 510 people in and around Rising City (the survey’s count) and is open about 12 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Rising City Community 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 Rising City’s library?

It logged 1.4 visits and lent 0.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Rising City’s civic life grade?

Rising 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 Rising City.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.