Gottsch Farmstead · Photo: SharonPapierdreams · CC BY-SA 4.0Township 7’s library runs 17 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Arlington Public Library serves 1,311 people in and around Township 7. Last year it lent 8,381 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,899 visits.
Township 7’s library, in brief
A small-town library
Arlington Public Library serves 1,311 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 ↓
Open only about 22 hours a week
Arlington Public Library keeps short hours: about 22 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 20% of the people Arlington Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 62% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 70% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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 Township 7’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Township 7 is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #10 of 55 in Nebraska. Township 7 is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Township 7’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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Township 7
6.3 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.4%
9.4% of Township 7’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 Township 7’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Arlington Public Library serves 1,311 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
8,381 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
3,125 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
22 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.
Find it
Arlington Public Library, 410 West Elm Street, Arlington.
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 Township 7? 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 $3.21 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Township 7 cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $39K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $124K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $39K 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 262 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Township 7 | Arlington Public Library fine-free | 6.4 | 22 | A |
| Elkhorn Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Township 6 | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Township 2 | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Township 1 | None of its own | — | — | A− |
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 Township 7
Does Township 7 have a public library?
Yes. Arlington Public Library, 410 West Elm Street, serves 1,311 people in and around Township 7 (the survey’s count) and is open about 22 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Arlington 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 Township 7’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 6.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Township 7’s civic life grade?
A Township 7 is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #10 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 Township 7.
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.