Photo: Idawriter · CC BY-SA 3.0Guernsey’s library is a branch of Platte County Library System, which lends less per resident than 53% of systems its size
Guernsey’s library is the Guernsey Branch Library, a branch of Platte County Library System, which serves 8,546 people and lent 75K items last year.
What Guernsey’s library is like
Most of the system’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 59% of loans, more per resident than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 41%. What people borrow ↓
Programs are almost all for children
93% of the 216 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.8 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Guernsey’s library is a branch of Platte County Library System, so they cover the whole system (8,546 people), not just the Guernsey branch.
What’s behind Guernsey’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Guernsey is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns. Guernsey is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Guernsey’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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Guernsey
15.9 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.
8.1%
8.1% of Guernsey’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.3% in the typical Wyoming 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 Guernsey’s residents live; 2022.
59% of borrowing is digital
75K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
44,134 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Platte County Library System serves 8,546 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Platte County Library System system. The library’s own count.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
Guernsey Branch Library, 108 S. Wyoming Ave., Guernsey.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Platte County Library System branch.
New in Guernsey? 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 $3.53 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Guernsey cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $348K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $348K 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 5,966 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Guernsey Branch Library is one branch of Platte County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 8,546 people it serves.
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 Guernsey
Does Guernsey have a public library?
Yes: Guernsey Branch Library, 108 S. Wyoming Ave., is a branch of Platte County Library System, which serves 8,546 people. The branch is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Platte County Library System 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 Guernsey’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 8.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Guernsey’s civic life grade?
A Guernsey is ahead of 89% 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 Guernsey.
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.