Photo: Belinda Hankins Miller from U.S.A., upload by Herrick 10:33, 15 November 2007 (UTC) · CC BY 2.0North Little Rock’s library logs 9.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
North Little Rock Public Library System serves North Little Rock’s 66,810 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 234K books, movies and e-books and logged 623K visits.
What North Little Rock’s library is like
More library cards than residents
85,702 cards for 66,810 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 98% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 8%. The building also logs about 5,251 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
Most of North Little Rock’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 76% of loans, more per resident than at 83% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 24%. What people borrow ↓
A place to get online
North Little Rock Public Library System logs about 5,251 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 85 public computers. That’s 29 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
North Little Rock Public Library System holds 105,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. 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 North Little Rock’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, North Little Rock is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns, #43 of 114 in Arkansas. Library visits hold 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 →
195 community nonprofits are registered in North Little Rock
3.0 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 (69 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 7 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.2%
6.2% of North Little Rock’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 North Little Rock’s residents live; 2022.
76% of borrowing is digital
234K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 105K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
177,434 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
North Little Rock Public Library System serves 66,810 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
What kids borrow
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in North Little Rock last year.
2 places to borrow in North Little Rock
North Little Rock Public Library - William F. Laman Public L, 2801 Orange Street, North Little Rock.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in North Little Rock? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in North Little Rock
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.93 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average North Little Rock cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $9.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.8M budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
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 85,702 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Little Rock | North Little Rock Public Library - William F. Laman Public L fine-free | 3.5 | 46 | B− |
| Sherwood | Amy Sanders Branch Library | — | 57 | C |
| Maumelle | Maumelle Public Library | — | 54 | C |
| Little Rock | Central Arkansas Library System - Main Library | — | 52 | B |
| McAlmont | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Scott | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Gibson | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 North Little Rock
Does North Little Rock have a public library?
Yes. North Little Rock Public Library System, 2801 Orange Street, serves North Little Rock’s 66,810 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is North Little Rock Public Library System fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is North Little Rock’s library?
It logged 9.3 visits and lent 3.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is North Little Rock’s civic life grade?
B− North Little Rock is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns on civic life, #43 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 North Little Rock.
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.