Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainTekamah’s library runs 120 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Lied Tekamah Public Library serves Tekamah’s 1,715 residents. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and logged 5,797 visits.
What Tekamah’s library is like
A small-town library
Lied Tekamah Public Library serves 1,715 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 52 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 ↓
Programs are almost all for children
80% of the 206 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 46 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Tekamah Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2005. Today’s library there has 5,077 square feet. The building ↓
Nearly everyone in Tekamah has a card
1,550 cards for 1,715 people, or 90%. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. 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.
What’s behind Tekamah’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Tekamah is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns. Tekamah’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
23 community nonprofits are registered in Tekamah
13.6 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.3%
10.3% of Tekamah’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 Tekamah’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 2005
Lied Tekamah Public Library, 204 South 13th Street, Tekamah.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Tekamah? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Tekamah Carnegie Library
Tekamah Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Mar 15, 2005. It is significant for its education at the local level. Its architecture is described as Prairie Vernacular.
The Tekamah Carnegie Library is a historic building in Tekamah, Nebraska. It was built as a Carnegie library by L.G. Wood in 1916, and designed in Prairie School style by architect R.W. Grant. It was dedicated on October 25, 1916. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since March 15, 2005.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Lied Tekamah Public Library serves 1,715 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
3,112 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 Tekamah last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.08 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tekamah cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $165K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $178K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $165K 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 1,550 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tekamah | Lied Tekamah Public Library fine-free | 6.7 | 52 | A |
| Summit Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
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 Tekamah
Does Tekamah have a public library?
Yes. Lied Tekamah Public Library, 204 South 13th Street, serves Tekamah’s 1,715 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lied Tekamah 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 Tekamah’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 6.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Tekamah’s civic life grade?
A Tekamah is ahead of 87% 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 Tekamah.
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.