Photo: Luke · CC BY-SA 2.0Cotton Plant’s library is a branch of East Central Arkansas Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 91% of systems its size
Cotton Plant’s library is the Cotton Plant Branch Library, a branch of East Central Arkansas Regional Library System, which serves 22,002 people and lent 35K items last year.
Cotton Plant’s library, in brief
The East Central Arkansas Regional Library System is used less than most libraries its size
The East Central Arkansas Regional Library System records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Open only about 19 hours a week
The Cotton Plant branch keeps short hours: about 19 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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; Cotton Plant’s library is a branch of East Central Arkansas Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (22,002 people), not just the Cotton Plant branch.
What’s behind Cotton Plant’s civic life grade
Cotton Plant isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
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
Cotton Plant Branch Library, 124 Main St., Cotton Plant.
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 Cotton Plant? 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 Cotton Plant 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. Cotton Plant Branch 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 Cotton Plant
Does Cotton Plant have a public library?
Yes: Cotton Plant Branch Library, 124 Main St., is a branch of East Central Arkansas Regional Library System, which serves 22,002 people. The branch is open about 19 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 Cotton Plant’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 Cotton Plant’s civic life grade?
Cotton Plant isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Cotton Plant.
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.