Photo: Runner1928 · CC BY-SA 3.0Lusk’s library lends 17 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Niobrara County Library serves 2,354 people in and around Lusk. Last year it lent 50K books, movies and e-books and logged 22K visits.
Lusk’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
Niobrara County Library logs 9.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 17 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
44% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 56%. What your card is worth ↓
Programs are almost all for children
85% of the 320 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.3 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. It’s 20% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 27% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. 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; Niobrara County Library serves 2,354 people in and around Lusk, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Lusk’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lusk is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. Lusk is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Lusk near the top nationally; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
23 community nonprofits are registered in Lusk
17.5 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
26.5%
26.5% of Lusk’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 Lusk’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
50K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
10,029 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Niobrara County Library serves 2,354 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 26 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Niobrara County Library system. The library’s own count.
About 5 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
Niobrara County Library, 425 S. Main St., Lusk.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Niobrara County Library branch.
New in Lusk? 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 $2.41 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lusk cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $341K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $821K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $341K 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 1,647 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Niobrara County Library serves 2,354 people in and around Lusk, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Lusk.
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 Lusk
Does Lusk have a public library?
Yes. Niobrara County Library, 425 S. Main St., serves 2,354 people in and around Lusk (the survey’s count) and is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Niobrara County 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 Lusk’s library?
It logged 9.4 visits and lent 21.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Lusk’s civic life grade?
A+ Lusk is among the top 1% 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 Lusk.
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.