Paola Free Library
Paola Free Library serves Paola’s 5,780 residents. Last year it lent 51K books, movies and e-books and logged 32K visits.
What stands out about Paola Free Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.
Paola Free Library serves 5,780 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Paola last year.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
51K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 29K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time last year, on average.
8,373 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.88 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Paola cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $442K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $831K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $442K 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 5,753 cardholders ÷ 12.
Find it
Paola Free Library, 101 East Peoria, Paola.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Paola? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paola | Paola Free Library fine-free | 8.9 | 54 |
| Marysville | None of its own | — | — |
| Valley | None of its own | — | — |
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.
About these numbers
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Hours are an average. The survey reports a building’s public hours for the whole year. We divide by the weeks it was open, so check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
- Compared by size. “Similar-size” means libraries serving about as many people, nationwide. Per-resident numbers always flatter the smallest towns, so they’re never compared with big cities.
- 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.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Paola.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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.