Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Mansfield’s library is a branch of Wright County Library, which lends less per resident than 69% of systems its size
Mansfield’s library is the Mansfield Library, a branch of Wright County Library, which serves 18,188 people and lent 54K items last year.
What Mansfield’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
98% of the 52 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 39 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, the Wright County Library system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Wright County Library system offered 52 programs last year, 2.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. 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; Mansfield’s library is a branch of Wright County Library, so they cover the whole system (18,188 people), not just the Mansfield branch.
What’s behind Mansfield’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Mansfield is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns. Mansfield is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Among U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($22K–$37K) it does better, ahead of 62%.
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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Mansfield
3.2 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.1%
7.1% of Mansfield’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 Mansfield’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Wright County Library serves 18,188 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 Wright County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
54K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
7,939 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
52 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
Mansfield Library, 120 N Business 60, Mansfield.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Wright County Library branch.
New in Mansfield? 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 $2.41 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mansfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $340K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $821K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $340K 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 4,998 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Mansfield Library is one branch of Wright County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 18,188 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 Mansfield
Does Mansfield have a public library?
Yes: Mansfield Library, 120 N Business 60, is a branch of Wright County Library, which serves 18,188 people. The branch is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wright 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 Mansfield’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 3.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Mansfield’s civic life grade?
C Mansfield is ahead of 34% 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 Mansfield.
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.