Photo: Smgross at English Wikipedia · Public domainSt. Louis’ library lends 1.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Theodore A. Cutler Memorial Library serves 10,378 people in and around St. Louis. Last year it lent 17K books, movies and e-books and logged 22K visits.
St. Louis’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Theodore A. Cutler Memorial Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
90% of the 141 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 34 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Theodore A. Cutler Memorial Library serves 10,378 people in and around St. Louis, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind St. Louis’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, St. Louis is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #207 of 697 in Michigan. St. Louis is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; St. Louis’ 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 →
25 community nonprofits are registered in St. Louis
3.4 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
12.6%
12.6% of St. Louis’ 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 St. Louis’ residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Theodore A. Cutler Memorial Library serves 10,378 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Theodore A. Cutler Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
17K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,460 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, 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.
Find it
Theodore A. Cutler Memorial Library, 312 Michigan Avenue, Saint Louis.
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 Theodore A. Cutler Memorial Library branch.
New in St. Louis? 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 $1.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average St. Louis cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $227K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $303K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $227K 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 2,171 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | Theodore A. Cutler Memorial Library fine-free | — | 46 | A− |
| Alma | Alma Public Library | — | 50 | A |
| Pine River Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Bethany Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
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.
- System-wide. Theodore A. Cutler Memorial Library serves 10,378 people in and around St. Louis, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just St. Louis.
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 St. Louis
Does St. Louis have a public library?
Yes. Theodore A. Cutler Memorial Library, 312 Michigan Avenue, serves 10,378 people in and around St. Louis (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Theodore A. Cutler Memorial 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 St. Louis’ library?
It logged 2.1 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 St. Louis’ civic life grade?
A− St. Louis is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on civic life, #207 of 697 in Michigan. 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 St. Louis.
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.