Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Mountain Grove’s library is a branch of Wright County Library, which lends less per resident than 69% of systems its size
Mountain Grove’s library is the Mountain Grove Library, a branch of Wright County Library, which serves 18,188 people and lent 54K items last year.
What Mountain Grove’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; Mountain Grove’s library is a branch of Wright County Library, so they cover the whole system (18,188 people), not just the Mountain Grove branch.
What’s behind Mountain Grove’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Mountain Grove is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #154 of 229 in Missouri. Mountain Grove is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Mountain Grove’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Mountain Grove
3.3 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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.2%
8.2% of Mountain Grove’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 Mountain Grove’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
Mountain Grove Library, 206 N Greene Ave, Mountain Grove.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Wright County Library branch.
New in Mountain Grove? 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 Mountain Grove 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain Grove | Mountain Grove Library | — | 38 | B− |
| Clinton Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
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. Mountain Grove 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 Mountain Grove
Does Mountain Grove have a public library?
Yes: Mountain Grove Library, 206 N Greene Ave, is a branch of Wright County Library, which serves 18,188 people. The branch is open about 38 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 Mountain Grove’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 Mountain Grove’s civic life grade?
B− Mountain Grove is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on civic life, #154 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 Mountain Grove.
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.