Murfreesboro Cities Service Station · Photo: Valis55 · CC BY-SA 4.0Murfreesboro’s library is a branch of Southwest Arkansas Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 89% of systems its size
Murfreesboro’s library is the Pike County Library, a branch of Southwest Arkansas Regional Library, which serves 18,970 people and lent 21K items last year.
Murfreesboro’s library, in brief
The Southwest Arkansas Regional Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Southwest Arkansas Regional Library system records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $3 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Arkansas pays a big share
29% of the budget comes from the state, and 71% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Southwest Arkansas Regional Library system spends $3 per resident, less than 99% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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; Murfreesboro’s library is a branch of Southwest Arkansas Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (18,970 people), not just the Murfreesboro branch.
What’s behind Murfreesboro’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Murfreesboro is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns. Murfreesboro is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Southwest Arkansas Regional Library spends $3 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($40K–$67K) 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Murfreesboro
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
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.3%
6.3% of Murfreesboro’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 Murfreesboro’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 5 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Southwest Arkansas Regional Library serves 18,970 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
A year at Southwest Arkansas Regional Library
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Southwest Arkansas Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Books and media off the shelf
21K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
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
Pike County Library, 210 2nd Avenue, Murfreesboro.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Southwest Arkansas Regional Library branch.
New in Murfreesboro? 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 $5.54 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Murfreesboro cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $64K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $356K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $64K 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 6,053 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Pike County Library is one branch of Southwest Arkansas Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 18,970 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 Murfreesboro
Does Murfreesboro have a public library?
Yes: Pike County Library, 210 2nd Avenue, is a branch of Southwest Arkansas Regional Library, which serves 18,970 people. The branch is open about 23 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Southwest Arkansas Regional 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 Murfreesboro’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 1.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Murfreesboro’s civic life grade?
C− Murfreesboro is ahead of 15% 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 Murfreesboro.
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.