Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainWausa’s library runs 317 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Lied Lincoln Township Library serves 729 people in and around Wausa. Last year it lent 8,219 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,100 visits.
Wausa’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
802 cards for 729 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 ↓
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Lied Lincoln Township Library ran 231 programs last year, about 4 a week. That’s 317 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 2,396 attended. Kids & programs ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 56% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Lied Lincoln Township Library serves 729 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 ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
36% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 59%. What your card is worth ↓
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 Wausa’s civic life grade
Wausa 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 2 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Lied Lincoln Township Library serves 729 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
8,219 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
1,994 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Lied Lincoln Township Library, 603 E. Norris St., Wausa.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Wausa? 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 $2.78 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wausa cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $51K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $142K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $51K 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 802 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 Wausa
Does Wausa have a public library?
Yes. Lied Lincoln Township Library, 603 E. Norris St., serves 729 people in and around Wausa (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lied Lincoln Township 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 Wausa’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 11.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Wausa’s civic life grade?
Wausa 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 Wausa.
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.