Nebraska rankings · Libraries

Towns that borrow the most from their library in Nebraska

Ranked by books, movies, e-books and other items the town’s public library lent in a year, per resident. 41 towns with 2,500+ residents.

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Wayne’s spot

#20of 41

9.3 per residentbooks, movies & e-books borrowed a year

Find Wayne ↓

Central City26.0 per resident · Central City Public Library

West Point16.9 per resident · John A Stahl Library

Kearney15.9 per resident · Kearney Public Library

The race around Wayne

Just behind Broken Bow, just ahead of Wahoo

18Norfolk10.0 per resident 19Broken Bow9.8 per resident 20Wayne9.3 per resident 21Wahoo9.2 per resident 22Aurora9.1 per resident

All 41 towns

Loans per resident, highest first.

#TownLoans per residentLibraryLoans a year

1 Central City3,061 people 26.0 per resident Central City Public Library80,483

2 West Point3,471 people 16.9 per resident John A Stahl Library58,514

3 Kearney34,246 people 15.9 per resident Kearney Public Library546,736

4 O'Neill3,570 people 15.6 per resident O`neill Public Library55,804

5 Papillion25,244 people 15.0 per resident Papillion Public Library356,325

6 Seward7,678 people 14.6 per resident Seward Memorial Library112,080

7 St. Paul2,758 people 14.5 per resident Saint Paul Public Library35,191

8 Ashland3,071 people 13.8 per resident Ashland Public Library46,413

9 Ogallala4,777 people 13.7 per resident Kathleen Lute Public Library64,114

10 McCook7,314 people 13.3 per resident Mccook Public Library96,240

11 Auburn3,470 people 12.7 per resident Auburn Memorial Library44,454

12 Gretna9,193 people 11.8 per resident Gretna Public Library106,575

13 Blair7,914 people 11.7 per resident Blair Public Library & Technology Center93,212

14 York8,141 people 11.4 per resident Kilgore Memorial Library93,274

15 Falls City4,077 people 10.8 per resident Falls City Library & Arts Center43,714

16 Crete7,527 people 10.1 per resident Crete Public Library75,890

17 Gothenburg3,452 people 10.1 per resident Gothenburg Public Library34,688

18 Norfolk26,054 people 10.0 per resident Norfolk Public Library260,499

19 Broken Bow3,502 people 9.8 per resident Broken Bow Public Library34,795

20 Wayne6,121 people 9.3 per resident Wayne Public Library57,470

21 Wahoo4,929 people 9.2 per resident Wahoo Public Library46,124

22 Aurora4,664 people 9.1 per resident Alice M Farr Library42,865

23 Nebraska City7,369 people 8.6 per resident Morton-James Public Library63,854

24 Scottsbluff14,376 people 8.3 per resident Lied Scottsbluff Public Library118,567

25 La Vista16,563 people 8.2 per resident La Vista Public Library134,286

26 Cozad3,937 people 8.1 per resident Wilson Public Library31,752

27 Plattsmouth6,731 people 7.6 per resident Plattsmouth Public Library51,931

28 Alliance8,075 people 7.1 per resident Alliance Public Library57,595

29 Chadron5,160 people 7.0 per resident Chadron Public Library36,066

30 Columbus24,488 people 6.6 per resident Columbus Public Library161,875

31 Grand Island52,884 people 6.1 per resident Grand Island Public Library322,121

32 Bellevue64,510 people 5.9 per resident Bellevue Public Library380,184

33 Fairbury3,888 people 5.8 per resident Fairbury Public Library22,122

34 Beatrice12,225 people 5.2 per resident Beatrice Public Library64,351

35 Minden3,108 people 5.0 per resident Jensen Memorial Library15,794

36 Gering8,550 people 4.7 per resident Gering Public Library40,297

37 Fremont27,567 people 4.4 per resident Keene Memorial Library124,180

38 Milford2,565 people 3.6 per resident Webermeier Memorial Library7,946

39 Schuyler6,578 people 3.3 per resident Schuyler Public Library21,741

40 Lexington10,862 people 2.8 per resident Lexington Public Library30,072

41 South Sioux City13,907 people 1.3 per resident South Sioux City Public Library17,620

How it works

How this ranking works

The NE list, with the map →

We rank every town by books, movies, e-books and other items the town’s public library lent in a year, per resident. The highest figure ranks #1. Each library reports its own yearly numbers to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (fiscal year 2024), and each town’s Library page shows how it compares with libraries of a similar size nationwide.

A town is ranked only when its library system serves that town alone, and the library’s own count of the people it serves is within 20% of the town’s population. Towns served by a county or regional system, or sharing a library with a neighbor, can’t be credited with the numbers, so they aren’t ranked. Libraries that didn’t respond to the survey aren’t ranked either. Vacation towns can rank high because summer residents and visitors use the library too.

Only towns with at least 2,500 residents are ranked; Census estimates for smaller places are too uncertain. Population and income: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Libraries: IMLS Public Libraries Survey. Town photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each town’s page.

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#20 of 41 for library borrowing. Does that ring true?

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Towns that borrow the most from their library in Nebraska

Just behind Broken Bow, just ahead of Wahoo

All 41 towns

How this ranking works

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