Jess Norman Post 166 American Legion Hut · Photo: Valis55 · CC BY-SA 3.0Augusta’s library is a branch of East Central Arkansas Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 91% of systems its size
Augusta’s library is the Woodruff County Library, a branch of East Central Arkansas Regional Library System, which serves 22,002 people and lent 35K items last year.
What stands out about Woodruff County Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Augusta’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Augusta is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns. Augusta is graded on two of the three inputs. Augusta’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($38K–$63K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 Augusta
6.5 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.2%
3.2% of Augusta’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.2% in the typical Arkansas 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 Augusta’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
East Central Arkansas Regional Library System serves 22,002 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
A year at East Central Arkansas Regional Library System
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole East Central Arkansas Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
35K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
12,816 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
What kids borrow
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Find it
Woodruff County Library, 201 Mulberry Street, Augusta.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every East Central Arkansas Regional Library System branch.
New in Augusta? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Augusta cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $891K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $533K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $891K 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 10,866 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Woodruff County Library is one branch of East Central Arkansas Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 22,002 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 Augusta
Does Augusta have a public library?
Yes: Woodruff County Library, 201 Mulberry Street, is a branch of East Central Arkansas Regional Library System, which serves 22,002 people. The branch is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is East Central Arkansas Regional 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 Augusta’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 1.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Augusta’s civic life grade?
C+ Augusta is ahead of 38% 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 Augusta.
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.