Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0Bourbon’s library is a branch of Crawford County Library, which lends less per resident than 83% of systems its size
Bourbon’s library is the Bourbon Branch, a branch of Crawford County Library, which serves 21,563 people and lent 40K items last year.
Bourbon’s library, in brief
The Crawford County Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Crawford County Library system records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $25 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Crawford County Library system offered 171 programs last year, 7.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. 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; Bourbon’s library is a branch of Crawford County Library, so they cover the whole system (21,563 people), not just the Bourbon branch.
What’s behind Bourbon’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bourbon is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns. Bourbon is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Bourbon’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 Bourbon
3.0 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 Bourbon’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 Bourbon’s 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.
Crawford County Library serves 21,563 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Crawford County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
40K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
7,655 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
Bourbon Branch, 575 Elm St., Bourbon.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Crawford County Library branch.
New in Bourbon? 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 $1.27 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bourbon cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $535K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $680K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $535K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 6,972 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Bourbon Branch is one branch of Crawford County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 21,563 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 Bourbon
Does Bourbon have a public library?
Yes: Bourbon Branch, 575 Elm St., is a branch of Crawford County Library, which serves 21,563 people. The branch is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Crawford County Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Bourbon’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Bourbon’s civic life grade?
B− Bourbon is ahead of 48% 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 Bourbon.
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.