Ashland’s library is a branch of Daniel Boone Regional Library, which lends more per resident than 87% of systems its size
Ashland’s library is the Southern Boone County Public Library, a branch of Daniel Boone Regional Library, which serves 223,840 people and lent 2.8M items last year.
What stands out about Southern Boone County Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Ashland’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ashland is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #49 of 229 in Missouri. Ashland is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Ashland’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 →
31 community nonprofits are registered in Ashland
6.3 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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.9%
8.9% of Ashland’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 9.3% in the typical Missouri 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 Ashland’s residents live; 2022.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
2.8M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,099,642 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Daniel Boone Regional Library serves 223,840 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 214 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Daniel Boone Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
About 13 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
Southern Boone County Public Library, 109 N. Main Street, Ashland.
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 Daniel Boone Regional Library branch.
New in Ashland? 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 $3.41 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ashland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $12M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $42M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $12M 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 90,941 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Southern Boone County Public Library is one branch of Daniel Boone Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 223,840 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 Ashland
Does Ashland have a public library?
Yes: Southern Boone County Public Library, 109 N. Main Street, is a branch of Daniel Boone Regional Library, which serves 223,840 people. The branch is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Daniel Boone Regional 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 Ashland’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 12.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Ashland’s civic life grade?
A Ashland is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on civic life, #49 of 229 in Missouri. 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 Ashland.
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.