Kendalls Depot · Photo: Wikideas1 · CC0Kendall’s library runs 84 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Kendall Public Library serves Kendall’s 1,744 residents. Last year it lent 5,957 print books and media and logged 4,160 visits.
What Kendall’s library is like
A small-town library
Kendall Public Library serves 1,744 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 21 hours a week
Kendall Public Library keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
27% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 73%. What your card is worth ↓
A place to get online
Kendall Public Library logs about 71 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 5 public computers. That’s 15 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
Programs lean toward adults
84% of the 146 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 7 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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 Kendall’s civic life grade
Kendall 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Kendall Public Library serves 1,744 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
5,957 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
146 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Kendall Public Library, 110 E. South Railroad St., Kendall.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Kendall? 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 $2.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kendall cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $94K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $191K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $94K 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 448 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Kendall
Does Kendall have a public library?
Yes. Kendall Public Library, 110 E. South Railroad St., serves Kendall’s 1,744 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Kendall 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 Kendall’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 3.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Kendall’s civic life grade?
Kendall 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 Kendall.
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.