Lawton’s library logs 4.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Lawton Public Library serves 1,850 people in and around Lawton. Last year it logged 8,836 visits.
What stands out about Lawton’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Lawton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lawton is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns. Lawton is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Lawton’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Lawton
2.4 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.6%
11.6% of Lawton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 12.4% in the typical Michigan 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 Lawton’s residents live; 2022.
75 programs a year
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 5 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Lawton Public Library serves 1,850 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Lawton Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: print loans and books & media on the shelves. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Find it
Lawton Public Library, 125 South Main Street, Lawton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Lawton? 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 Lawton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $163K.
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 1,277 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: print loans and books & media on the shelves. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 Lawton
Does Lawton have a public library?
Yes. Lawton Public Library, 125 South Main Street, serves 1,850 people in and around Lawton (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lawton 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 Lawton’s library?
It logged 4.8 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Lawton’s civic life grade?
B Lawton is ahead of 57% 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 Lawton.
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.