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Library · Silver Lake

Silver Lake Library

Silver Lake Library serves Silver Lake’s 1,888 residents. Last year it lent 20K books, movies and e-books and logged 9,014 visits.

203 Railroad, Silver Lake 66539 · about 48 hours a week
Photo: Kswx29
Borrowed a year
20K
10.4 per resident
Visits a year
9,014
4.8 per resident · Above typical (3.5)
Programs & events
136
about 3 a week · 3,073 attended
Cardholders
61%
1,155 cards
Open
48 hrs
a week

What stands out about Silver Lake Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 1 kids’ program a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Silver Lake →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–546
Ages 6–1130
Teens4
Adults34
All ages22
Little ones
0.9

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

Kids’ books
28

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Silver Lake last year.

3,073
people at programs
136
programs
What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

20K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

20Kloans
Books & media (adults) 33%Kids’ books & media 67%E-books, audio & streaming 1%
How hard the shelves work
1.8×

Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.

From your couch

99 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.50 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Silver Lake cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$0
a year at retail prices · $0 a month

Who pays for it
$107 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $203K.

Local taxes 66%State 1%Federal 0%Gifts & other 33%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $305K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $203K 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 1,155 cardholders ÷ 12.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

9,014
visits
4.8 per resident
20K
loans, print + digital
10.4 per resident
136
programs & events
3,073 attended
1,155
library cards
61% of people served
Every open hour8items borrowed
Every week59people at a program
Every day5Wi-Fi sessions
3 staff (full-time equivalent)6 public computers11K books & media on the shelves
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.

Visits per resident 4.8 visits · typical 3.5Higher than 65%
Borrowing per resident 10.4 print items · typical 3.9Higher than 87%
Digital borrowing 0.1 e-items · typical 1Lower than 79%
Kids’ borrowing 7 kids’ items · typical 1.4Top 10%
Program attendance 1.6 attendees · typical 0.7Higher than 79%
Programs offered 72 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Higher than 58%
Cardholders 61% of residents · typical 54%Higher than 56%
Spending $107 per resident · typical $54Higher than 85%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
In Kansas
#169 of 319

library systems for visits per resident.

Size group

Silver Lake Library serves 1,888 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

The building

Find it

Silver Lake Library, 203 Railroad, Silver Lake.

48
hours open a week
2,420
square feet
11K
books & media
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Silver Lake? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHours
RossvilleRossville Community Library fine-free13.843
Silver LakeSilver Lake Library fine-free10.448
DoverNone of its own——
MenokenNone of its own——
GroveNone of its own——
MissionNone 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 Silver Lake.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is Silver Lake Library one of the best things about Silver Lake?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Start a conversation

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.

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