Welborn 'Doc' Barton House · Photo: UltraSparky · CC BY-SA 4.0Ingalls’ library logs 49 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Cimarron City Library serves 1,952 people in and around Ingalls. Last year it lent 27K books, movies and e-books and logged 95K visits.
The short version on Ingalls’s library
Ingalls uses its library more than almost any town its size
Cimarron City Library logs 49 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 62% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
Cimarron City Library keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.3 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. It’s 24% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Cimarron City Library serves more than Ingalls
The library’s service area covers 1,952 people in and around Ingalls, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Ingalls’ civic life grade
Ingalls 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Cimarron City Library serves 1,952 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
27K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 31K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
6,348 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
Ingalls Public Library, 220 S. Main, Ingalls.
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 Ingalls? 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 $1.54 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ingalls cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $287K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $444K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $287K 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 858 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Ingalls’ 95,000 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
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 Ingalls
Does Ingalls have a public library?
Yes. Cimarron City Library, 220 S. Main, serves 1,952 people in and around Ingalls (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cimarron City 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 Ingalls’ library?
It logged 48.7 visits and lent 13.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Ingalls’ civic life grade?
Ingalls 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 Ingalls.
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.