Photo: Catfilmnoir a.k.a. Carol Baier · CC BY-SA 2.0Macon’s library logs 9.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Macon Public Library serves Macon’s 5,457 residents. Last year it lent 42K books, movies and e-books and logged 53K visits.
The short version on Macon’s library
Programs are almost all for children
100% of the 75 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in Missouri for library use
Macon ranks #4 of 50 Missouri towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 9.7 visits per resident, more than at 93% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Nearly everyone in Macon has a card
5,063 cards for 5,457 people, or 93%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Macon Public Library holds 63,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. 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 Macon’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Macon is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #3 of 229 in Missouri. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
42 community nonprofits are registered in Macon
7.7 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 (14 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.4%
11.4% of Macon’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 Macon’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Macon Public Library serves 5,457 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
42K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 63K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
6,121 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Macon last year.
Find it
Macon Public Library, 210 N Rutherford St., Macon.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Macon? 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 $2.84 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Macon cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $240K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $681K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $240K 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 5,063 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Macon Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Macon
Does Macon have a public library?
Yes. Macon Public Library, 210 N Rutherford St., serves Macon’s 5,457 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Macon 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 Macon’s library?
It logged 9.7 visits and lent 7.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Macon’s civic life grade?
A+ Macon is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on civic life, #3 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 Macon.
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.