Hamilton Township’s library logs 2.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Hamilton Public Library serves 1,690 people in and around Hamilton Township. Last year it lent 7,183 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,744 visits.
The short version on Hamilton Township’s library
More library cards than residents
2,034 cards for 1,690 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
96% of the 57 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 40 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Hamilton Public Library serves 1,690 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 45 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 ↓
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 Hamilton Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hamilton Township is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. Hamilton Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Hamilton Township’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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Hamilton Township
7.3 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.5%
8.5% of Hamilton 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 Hamilton 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.
Hamilton Public Library serves 1,690 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
7,183 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
1,755 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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
Hamilton Public Library, 312 N Davis St., Hamilton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hamilton 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 $1.48 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hamilton Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $78K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $114K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $78K 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 2,034 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton Township | Hamilton Public Library fine-free | 4.3 | 45 | A |
| Kingston Township | Caldwell County Library fine-free | — | 50 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sheridan Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Gomer Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Kidder Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Kidder | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 Hamilton Township
Does Hamilton Township have a public library?
Yes. Hamilton Public Library, 312 N Davis St., serves 1,690 people in and around Hamilton Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hamilton Public 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 Hamilton Township’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 4.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Hamilton Township’s civic life grade?
A Hamilton Township is ahead of 86% 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 Hamilton 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.