Photo: User:Rmcclen. Original uploader was Rmcclen at en.wikipedia · Public domainBenton’s library is a branch of Mid Arkansas Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 92% of systems its size
Benton’s library is the Bob Herzfeld Memorial Library, a branch of Mid Arkansas Regional Library System, which serves 189,438 people and lent 191K items last year.
The short version on Benton’s library
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 96% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 73% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
The Mid Arkansas Regional Library System lends 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, fewer than 92% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
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; Benton’s library is a branch of Mid Arkansas Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (189,438 people), not just the Benton branch.
What’s behind Benton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Benton is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #36 of 114 in Arkansas. Benton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; 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 →
147 community nonprofits are registered in Benton
4.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (31 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.1%
8.1% of Benton’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 Benton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Mid Arkansas Regional Library System serves 189,438 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
A year at Mid Arkansas Regional Library System
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mid 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.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
191K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 22 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
Bob Herzfeld Memorial Library, 1800 Smithers Drive, Benton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Mid Arkansas Regional Library System branch.
New in Benton? 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 Benton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 106,657 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
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. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Bob Herzfeld Memorial Library is one branch of Mid Arkansas Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 189,438 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 Benton
Does Benton have a public library?
Yes: Bob Herzfeld Memorial Library, 1800 Smithers Drive, is a branch of Mid Arkansas Regional Library System, which serves 189,438 people. The branch is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mid Arkansas Regional Library System fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Benton’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 1.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Benton’s civic life grade?
B Benton is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on civic life, #36 of 114 in Arkansas. 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 Benton.
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.