Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0Kirkwood’s library lends 16 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Kirkwood Public Library serves Kirkwood’s 29,461 residents. Last year it lent 581K books, movies and e-books and logged 192K visits.
Kirkwood’s library, in brief
Kirkwood ranks 2nd in Missouri for borrowing
Out of 50 Missouri towns with a library of their own, Kirkwood comes 2nd for items borrowed per resident. It’s also #3 for kids’ borrowing. How it compares ↓
Kirkwood uses its library more than almost any town its size
Kirkwood Public Library logs 6.5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 16 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 94% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 57% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 34 items per child in Kirkwood last year. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.5 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. It’s 18% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 107,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.5 times last year, on average. 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.
What’s behind Kirkwood’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Kirkwood is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #20 of 229 in Missouri. All three 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 →
170 community nonprofits are registered in Kirkwood
5.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (35 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 14 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
12.1%
12.1% of Kirkwood’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 Kirkwood’s residents live; 2022.
About 7 kids’ programs 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Kirkwood last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Kirkwood Public Library serves 29,461 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 164 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
581K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 107K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.5 times last year, on average.
101,759 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Kirkwood Public Library, 140 E Jefferson Ave, Kirkwood.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Kirkwood? 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 $3.11 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kirkwood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.8M 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 23,574 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkwood | Kirkwood Public Library | 19.7 | 68 | A |
| Oakland | Oak Bend Branch fine-free | — | 64 | B |
| Des Peres | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Glendale | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Sunset Hills | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Warson Woods | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Crestwood | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Frontenac | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
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 Kirkwood
Does Kirkwood have a public library?
Yes. Kirkwood Public Library, 140 E Jefferson Ave, serves Kirkwood’s 29,461 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Kirkwood Public 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 Kirkwood’s library?
It logged 6.5 visits and lent 19.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Kirkwood’s civic life grade?
A Kirkwood is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on civic life, #20 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 Kirkwood.
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.