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S.D. Merritt HouseS.D. Merritt House · Photo: Valis55 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library, Greenbrier · part of Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System

Greenbrier’s library is a branch of Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 69% of systems its size

Greenbrier’s library is the Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library, Greenbrier, a branch of Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System, which serves 143,767 people and lent 566K items last year.

13 Wilson Farm Road, Greenbrier 72058 · about 37 hours a week
C+Civic lifeAhead of 44% of U.S. towns · #54 of 114 in Arkansas. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (501) 679-6344 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
566K
3.9 per resident
Visits a year
427K
3 per resident · Above typical (2.1)
Programs & events
3,775
about 73 a week
Cardholders
44%
62,734 cards
Open
37 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

Greenbrier’s library, in brief

More of a place to be than a place to borrow

Visits per resident beat 76% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 31%. A year at the library ↓

Three times the programs of a typical library its size

The Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System ran 3,775 programs last year, about 73 a week. That’s 26 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓

44% of borrowing happens on a screen

E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 44% of loans. Print still makes up 56%, much of it kids’ books. 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; Greenbrier’s library is a branch of Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (143,767 people), not just the Greenbrier branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Greenbrier’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Greenbrier is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns, #54 of 114 in Arkansas. Greenbrier is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Greenbrier’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.

C+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Greenbrier’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureC−Community nonprofits2.2 per 1,000 residents · AR towns 3.4 · U.S. 3.7A−Volunteering9.8% of adults 25–44 · AR towns 7.2% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 44%
FewerMore
Arkansas towns we grade (114)Ahead of 53%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $43K–$72K (6,944)Ahead of 40%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$72K) 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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Greenbrier is small (6,645 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

13 community nonprofits are registered in Greenbrier

2.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.10 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation30.47 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans20.37 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services20.37 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education20.37 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.15 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals20.30 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.

Volunteering

9.8%

9.8% of Greenbrier’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 Greenbrier’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 38 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Greenbrier →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5633
Ages 6–111,355
Teens711
Adults1,022
All ages54
Little ones
12.2

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

149K
kids’ books & media borrowed
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 3 visits · typical 2.1Higher than 76%
Borrowing per resident 2.2 print items · typical 3.2Lower than 69%
Digital borrowing 1.7 e-items · typical 1.4Higher than 58%
Kids’ borrowing 1 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 71%
Programs offered 26.3 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Top 10%
Cardholders 44% of residents · typical 41%Higher than 55%
Spending $19 per resident · typical $36Lower than 81%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System serves 143,767 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 36 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.

427K
visits
3 per resident
566K
loans, print + digital
3.9 per resident
3,775
programs & events
63K
library cards
44% of people served
Every open hour36items borrowed
Every week8,219visits
32 staff (full-time equivalent)76 public computers
What people borrow

44% of borrowing is digital

566K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

566Kloans
Books & media (adults) 30%Kids’ books & media 26%E-books, audio & streaming 44%
From your couch

249,619 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

The building

Find it

Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library, Greenbrier, 13 Wilson Farm Road, Greenbrier.

Directions(501) 679-6344
37
hours open a week
2,000
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System branch.

New in Greenbrier? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.04 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Greenbrier cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$19 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $2.8M.

Local taxes 93%State 7%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.8M 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 62,734 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library, Greenbrier is one branch of Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 143,767 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 Greenbrier

Does Greenbrier have a public library?

Yes: Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library, Greenbrier, 13 Wilson Farm Road, is a branch of Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System, which serves 143,767 people. The branch is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Faulkner-Van Buren 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 Greenbrier’s library?

It logged 3.0 visits and lent 3.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Greenbrier’s civic life grade?

C+ Greenbrier is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on civic life, #54 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 Greenbrier.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.