Independence Township’s library lends 7.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Dunklin County Library serves 28,283 people in and around Independence Township. Last year it lent 212K books, movies and e-books and logged 95K visits.
Independence Township’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
Dunklin County Library offered 139 programs last year, 4.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 4% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 87% 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; Dunklin County Library serves 28,283 people in and around Independence Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Independence Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Independence Township is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns, #205 of 229 in Missouri. Independence Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Independence Township’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($42K–$69K) 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 →
37 community nonprofits are registered in Independence Township
3.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (24 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.3%
6.3% of Independence 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 Independence Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Dunklin County Library serves 28,283 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Dunklin County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
212K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
7,635 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, 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
Dunklin County Library, 209 N Main St., Kennett.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Dunklin County Library branch.
New in Independence 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 $4.63 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Independence Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $774K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $774K 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 18,200 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independence Township | Dunklin County Library | — | 48 | C− |
| Salem Township | Senath Branch Library | — | 20 | C |
| Clay Township | Hornersville Branch Library | — | 12 | D |
| Holcomb Township | Holcomb Branch Library | — | 12 | C− |
| Freeborn Township | Clarkton Branch Library | — | 20 | D− |
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.
- System-wide. Dunklin County Library serves 28,283 people in and around Independence Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Independence Township.
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 Independence Township
Does Independence Township have a public library?
Yes. Dunklin County Library, 209 N Main St., serves 28,283 people in and around Independence Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dunklin 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 Independence Township’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 7.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Independence Township’s civic life grade?
C− Independence Township is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns on civic life, #205 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 Independence 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.