Photo: Valis55 · CC BY-SA 4.0DeWitt’s library is a branch of Arkansas County Library, which lends less per resident than 93% of systems its size
DeWitt’s library is the Dewitt Public Library, a branch of Arkansas County Library, which serves 16,050 people and lent 17K items last year.
What stands out about Dewitt Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind DeWitt’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, DeWitt is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #21 of 114 in Arkansas. DeWitt is graded on two of the three inputs. DeWitt’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
19 community nonprofits are registered in DeWitt
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.3%
7.3% of DeWitt’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 DeWitt’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Arkansas County Library serves 16,050 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Arkansas County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
17K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,141 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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
Dewitt Public Library, 205 West Maxwell Street, Dewitt.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Arkansas County Library branch.
New in DeWitt? 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 DeWitt cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $301K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $292K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $301K 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 8,401 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Dewitt Public Library is one branch of Arkansas County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 16,050 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 DeWitt
Does DeWitt have a public library?
Yes: Dewitt Public Library, 205 West Maxwell Street, is a branch of Arkansas County Library, which serves 16,050 people. The branch is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Arkansas County Library 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 DeWitt’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 1.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is DeWitt’s civic life grade?
B+ DeWitt is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on civic life, #21 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 DeWitt.
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.