Photo: Ardelta · CC BY-SA 4.0Forrest City’s library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Forrest City Public Library serves 13,000 people in and around Forrest City. Last year it lent 9,522 books, movies and e-books and logged 9,580 visits.
Forrest City’s library, in brief
Forrest City Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Forrest City Public Library records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $21 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Forrest City Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2022. Today’s library there has 4,200 square feet. The building ↓
47% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 47% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. 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.
What’s behind Forrest City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Forrest City is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Forrest City’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Forrest City Public Library spends $21 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size, and its 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($27K–$45K) 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Forrest City
2.0 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.5%
3.5% of Forrest City’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 Forrest City’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 2022
Forrest City Public Library, 421 South Washington Street, Forrest City.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Forrest City? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Forrest City Public Library
Forrest City Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan 7, 2022. It is significant for its architecture and education at the local level. It was listed as part of New Deal Recovery Efforts in Arkansas MPS.
More about the building →Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Forrest City Public Library serves 13,000 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
47% of borrowing is digital
9,522 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
4,453 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, by who they’re for.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Forrest City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $272K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $160K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $272K 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 932 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.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forrest City | Forrest City Public Library | 0.7 | 38 | D− |
| Caldwell | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Forrest City Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Forrest City
Does Forrest City have a public library?
Yes. Forrest City Public Library, 421 South Washington Street, serves 13,000 people in and around Forrest City (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Forrest City Public 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 Forrest City’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 0.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Forrest City’s civic life grade?
D− Forrest City is ahead of 2% 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 Forrest City.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.