Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0Ironton’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Ozark Regional Library serves 22,163 people in and around Ironton. Last year it lent 39K books, movies and e-books and logged 28K visits.
Ironton’s library, in brief
Ozark Regional Library is used less than most libraries its size
Ozark Regional Library records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Ozark Regional Library offered 160 programs last year, 7.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
69% of the 160 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.5 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Ozark Regional Library serves 22,163 people in and around Ironton, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Ironton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ironton is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns. Ironton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Ironton
3.9 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.3%
13.3% of Ironton’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 Ironton’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.
Ozark Regional Library serves 22,163 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 Ozark Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
39K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
11,629 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
Ozark Regional Library, 402 N Main St., Ironton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Ozark Regional Library branch.
New in Ironton? 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 $1.08 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ironton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $612K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $660K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $612K 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 9,898 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ironton | Ozark Regional Library | — | 50 | A− |
| Pilot Knob | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Arcadia | 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.
- System-wide. Ozark Regional Library serves 22,163 people in and around Ironton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Ironton.
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 Ironton
Does Ironton have a public library?
Yes. Ozark Regional Library, 402 N Main St., serves 22,163 people in and around Ironton (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ozark Regional 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 Ironton’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 1.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Ironton’s civic life grade?
A− Ironton is ahead of 84% 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 Ironton.
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.