Photo: Brandonrush · CC BY-SA 3.0De Valls Bluff’s library is a branch of Prairie County Library, which lends more per resident than 67% of systems its size
De Valls Bluff’s library is the Devalls Bluff Public Library, a branch of Prairie County Library, which serves 7,935 people and lent 43K items last year.
What De Valls Bluff’s library is like
Open only about 13 hours a week
The De Valls Bluff branch keeps short hours: about 13 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 10% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 366 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. 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; De Valls Bluff’s library is a branch of Prairie County Library, so they cover the whole system (7,935 people), not just the De Valls Bluff branch.
What’s behind De Valls Bluff’s civic life grade
De Valls Bluff 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 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Prairie County Library serves 7,935 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Prairie County Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. 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
43K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for De Valls Bluff’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 5 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
Devalls Bluff Public Library, 173 Market Street, Devalls Bluff.
Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Prairie County Library branch.
New in De Valls Bluff? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.93 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average De Valls Bluff cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $200K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $784K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $200K 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 783 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Devalls Bluff Public Library is one branch of Prairie County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 7,935 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 De Valls Bluff
Does De Valls Bluff have a public library?
Yes: Devalls Bluff Public Library, 173 Market Street, is a branch of Prairie County Library, which serves 7,935 people. The branch is open about 13 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Prairie County Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is De Valls Bluff’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 5.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is De Valls Bluff’s civic life grade?
De Valls Bluff 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 De Valls Bluff.
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.