Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Charleston’s library is a branch of Mississippi County Library District, which lends less per resident than 94% of systems its size
Charleston’s library is the Clara Drinkwater Newnam Library, a branch of Mississippi County Library District, which serves 12,577 people and lent 15K items last year.
The short version on Charleston’s library
Few programs for a library this size
The Mississippi County Library District system offered 8 programs last year, 0.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
The Mississippi County Library District system lends 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, fewer than 94% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. 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; Charleston’s library is a branch of Mississippi County Library District, so they cover the whole system (12,577 people), not just the Charleston branch.
What’s behind Charleston’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Charleston is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #115 of 229 in Missouri. Charleston is graded on two of the three inputs. Charleston’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
22 community nonprofits are registered in Charleston
4.9 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 (16 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.4%
7.4% of Charleston’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 Charleston’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Mississippi County Library District serves 12,577 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mississippi County Library District system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
15K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,933 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
8 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Clara Drinkwater Newnam Library, 105 E Marshall St., Charleston.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Mississippi County Library District branch.
New in Charleston? 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 Charleston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $420K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $233K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $420K 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 3,231 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Clara Drinkwater Newnam Library is one branch of Mississippi County Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 12,577 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 Charleston
Does Charleston have a public library?
Yes: Clara Drinkwater Newnam Library, 105 E Marshall St., is a branch of Mississippi County Library District, which serves 12,577 people. The branch is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mississippi County Library District 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 Charleston’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 1.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Charleston’s civic life grade?
B Charleston is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on civic life, #115 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 Charleston.
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.