Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki (thomasmachnitzki.com) · CC BY 3.0Parkin’s library is a branch of East Central Arkansas Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 91% of systems its size
Parkin’s library is the Parkin Branch Library, a branch of East Central Arkansas Regional Library System, which serves 22,002 people and lent 35K items last year.
What stands out about Parkin Branch Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Parkin’s civic life grade
Parkin isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
East Central Arkansas Regional Library System serves 22,002 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
A year at East Central Arkansas Regional Library System
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole East Central Arkansas Regional Library System 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.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
35K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
12,816 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, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Find it
Parkin Branch Library, 122 Wilson St., Parkin.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every East Central Arkansas Regional Library System branch.
New in Parkin? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Parkin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $891K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $533K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $891K 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 10,866 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.
- System-wide. Parkin Branch Library is one branch of East Central Arkansas Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 22,002 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 Parkin
Does Parkin have a public library?
Yes: Parkin Branch Library, 122 Wilson St., is a branch of East Central Arkansas Regional Library System, which serves 22,002 people.
Is East Central Arkansas Regional 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 Parkin’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 1.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Parkin’s civic life grade?
Parkin isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Parkin.
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.