Harry Truman Birthplace Memorial · Photo: Karen Montgomery · CC BY-SA 2.0Lamar’s library is a branch of Barton County Library, which lends less per resident than 60% of systems its size
Lamar’s library is the Mary K. Finley Library, a branch of Barton County Library, which serves 11,637 people and lent 45K items last year.
Lamar’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
The Barton County Library system offered 105 programs last year, 9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
10,060 cards for 11,637 people, or 86%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
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; Lamar’s library is a branch of Barton County Library, so they cover the whole system (11,637 people), not just the Lamar branch.
What’s behind Lamar’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lamar is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #121 of 229 in Missouri. Lamar is graded on two of the three inputs. Lamar’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 →
28 community nonprofits are registered in Lamar
6.5 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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.2%
6.2% of Lamar’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 Lamar’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.
Barton County Library serves 11,637 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Barton County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
45K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
7,819 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
105 programs a year
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
Mary K. Finley Library, 300 W 10th St., Lamar.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Barton County Library branch.
New in Lamar? 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 $2.36 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lamar cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $319K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $752K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $319K 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 10,060 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamar | Mary K. Finley Library | — | 39 | B |
| City Township | Mary K. Finley Library | — | 39 | B |
| Lamar Heights | 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. Mary K. Finley Library is one branch of Barton County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 11,637 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 Lamar
Does Lamar have a public library?
Yes: Mary K. Finley Library, 300 W 10th St., is a branch of Barton County Library, which serves 11,637 people. The branch is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Barton 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 Lamar’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 3.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Lamar’s civic life grade?
B Lamar is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on civic life, #121 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 Lamar.
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.