Photo: en:User:Cngodles · CC BY 2.5New Madrid’s library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
New Madrid County Library serves 14,829 people in and around New Madrid. Last year it lent 24K books, movies and e-books and logged 15K visits.
New Madrid’s library, in brief
New Madrid County Library is used less than most libraries its size
New Madrid County Library records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
New Madrid County Library offered 28 programs last year, 1.9 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; New Madrid County Library serves 14,829 people in and around New Madrid, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind New Madrid’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, New Madrid is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #190 of 229 in Missouri. New Madrid is graded on two of the three inputs. New Madrid’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$72K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in New Madrid
4.4 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.1%
5.1% of New Madrid’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 New Madrid’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.
New Madrid County Library serves 14,829 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole New Madrid County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
24K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,709 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
28 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
New Madrid Memorial Library, 431 Mill Street, New Madrid.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every New Madrid County Library branch.
New in New Madrid? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Madrid cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $503K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $402K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $503K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
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 4,635 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. New Madrid County Library serves 14,829 people in and around New Madrid, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just New Madrid.
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 New Madrid
Does New Madrid have a public library?
Yes. New Madrid County Library, 431 Mill Street, serves 14,829 people in and around New Madrid (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New Madrid County Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is New Madrid’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 1.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is New Madrid’s civic life grade?
C New Madrid is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on civic life, #190 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 New Madrid.
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.