Photo: Lauren Shufelberger · CC BY-SA 3.0Mena’s library is a branch of Ouachita Mountains Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 89% of systems its size
Mena’s library is the Polk County Library, a branch of Ouachita Mountains Regional Library, which serves 27,893 people and lent 49K items last year.
Mena’s library, in brief
The Ouachita Mountains Regional Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Ouachita Mountains Regional Library system records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $8 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Arkansas pays a big share
29% of the budget comes from the state, and 67% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Ouachita Mountains Regional Library system spends $8 per resident, less than 98% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). What your card is worth ↓
42% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 42% 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; Mena’s library is a branch of Ouachita Mountains Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (27,893 people), not just the Mena branch.
What’s behind Mena’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Mena is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #6 of 114 in Arkansas. Mena is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
27 community nonprofits are registered in Mena
4.8 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.4%
11.4% of Mena’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 Mena’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Ouachita Mountains Regional Library serves 27,893 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Ouachita Mountains Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
42% of borrowing is digital
49K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
20,564 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
What kids borrow
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Find it
Polk County Library, 410 8th Street, Mena.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Ouachita Mountains Regional Library branch.
New in Mena? 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 $3.47 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mena cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $213K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $738K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $213K budget.
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 4,950 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Polk County Library is one branch of Ouachita Mountains Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 27,893 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 Mena
Does Mena have a public library?
Yes: Polk County Library, 410 8th Street, is a branch of Ouachita Mountains Regional Library, which serves 27,893 people. The branch is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
How busy is Mena’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 1.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Mena’s civic life grade?
A Mena is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #6 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 Mena.
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.