Photo: Huw Williams (Huwmanbeing) · Public domainOxford’s library lends 17 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Oxford Public Library serves 1,551 people in and around Oxford. Last year it lent 30K books, movies and e-books and logged 9,123 visits.
Oxford’s library, in brief
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Oxford Public Library ran 462 programs last year, about 9 a week. That’s 298 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 7,569 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
Oxford Public Library lends 17 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 96% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 39% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Oxford Public Library spends $143 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (89%) comes from local taxes. 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; Oxford Public Library serves 1,551 people in and around Oxford, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Oxford’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Oxford is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. Oxford is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Oxford’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Oxford
9.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.7%
8.7% of Oxford’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 9.1% in the typical Indiana 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 Oxford’s residents live; 2022.
About 5 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Oxford Public Library serves 1,551 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Oxford Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
30K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,951 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Oxford Public Library, 201 East Smith Street, Oxford.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Oxford Public Library branch.
New in Oxford? 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 $2.42 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Oxford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $222K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $539K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $222K 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 636 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Oxford Public Library serves 1,551 people in and around Oxford, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Oxford.
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 Oxford
Does Oxford have a public library?
Yes. Oxford Public Library, 201 East Smith Street, serves 1,551 people in and around Oxford (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Oxford Public Library 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 Oxford’s library?
It logged 5.9 visits and lent 19.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Oxford’s civic life grade?
A Oxford is ahead of 90% 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 Oxford.
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.