Castor Township’s library logs 2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Bloomfield Public Library serves 1,755 people in and around Castor Township. Last year it lent 7,047 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,521 visits.
The short version on Castor Township’s library
Programs are almost all for children
100% of the 55 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 51 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Bloomfield Public Library serves 1,755 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 39 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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 Castor Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Castor Township is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns, #168 of 229 in Missouri. Castor Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Castor Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$71K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Castor Township
1.8 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.8%
9.8% of Castor Township’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 Castor Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Bloomfield Public Library serves 1,755 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
7,047 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Bloomfield Public Library, 200 Seneca St., Bloomfield.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Castor Township? 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 $2.67 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Castor Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $42K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $113K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $42K 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 396 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Castor Township ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty Township | Keller Public Library of Dexter | 5.2 | 40 | B− |
| Pike Township | Advance Community Library | 4.0 | 19 | B− |
| Castor Township | Bloomfield Public Library fine-free | 4.0 | 39 | C+ |
| Duck Creek Township | Puxico Public Library | 1.9 | 23 | B |
| Richland Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| New Lisbon Township | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Castor Township
Does Castor Township have a public library?
Yes. Bloomfield Public Library, 200 Seneca St., serves 1,755 people in and around Castor Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bloomfield Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Castor Township’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 4.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Castor Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Castor Township is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns on civic life, #168 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 Castor Township.
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.