Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainStanton’s library lends 23 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Stanton Public Library serves Stanton’s 1,526 residents. Last year it lent 37K books, movies and e-books and logged 5,363 visits.
Stanton’s library, in brief
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 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 49 items per child in Stanton last year. Kids & programs ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 50%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Nearly everyone in Stanton has a card
1,508 cards for 1,526 people, or 99%. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Stanton Public Library serves 1,526 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 32 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 ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Stanton Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2018. Today’s library there has 2,940 square feet. The building ↓
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 Stanton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Stanton is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns. Stanton’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 →
22 community nonprofits are registered in Stanton
12.9 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.4%
6.4% of Stanton’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 Stanton’s residents live; 2022.
77 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 Stanton last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Stanton Public Library serves 1,526 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
37K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.1 times last year, on average.
1,646 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 2018
Stanton Public Library, 1009 Jackpine, Stanton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Stanton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Stanton Carnegie Library
Stanton Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Nov 5, 2018. It is significant for its social history and education at the local level. It was listed as part of Carnegie Libraries in Nebraska MPS.
The Stanton Carnegie Library, in Stanton, Nebraska, was built in 1915. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $7.50 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Stanton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $71K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $534K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $71K 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 1,508 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 Stanton
Does Stanton have a public library?
Yes. Stanton Public Library, 1009 Jackpine, serves Stanton’s 1,526 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Stanton Public 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 Stanton’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 24.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Stanton’s civic life grade?
B+ Stanton is ahead of 66% 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 Stanton.
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. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.