Noel’s library is a branch of Mcdonald County Library, which lends less per resident than 89% of systems its size
Noel’s library is the Noel Community Library, a branch of Mcdonald County Library, which serves 23,303 people and lent 36K items last year.
The short version on Noel’s library
The Mcdonald County Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Mcdonald County Library system records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $15 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Mcdonald County Library system offered 216 programs last year, 9.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 216 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Mcdonald County Library system spends $15 per resident, less than 90% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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; Noel’s library is a branch of Mcdonald County Library, so they cover the whole system (23,303 people), not just the Noel branch.
What’s behind Noel’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Noel is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns. Noel 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.
Mcdonald County Library spends $15 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($31K–$52K) 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Noel
2.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.6%
5.6% of Noel’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 Noel’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.
Mcdonald County Library serves 23,303 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mcdonald County Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
36K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
9,582 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
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
Noel Community Library, 626 Johnson Dr, Noel.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Mcdonald County Library branch.
New in Noel? 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 $1.78 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Noel cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $339K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $604K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $339K 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 14,864 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Noel Community Library is one branch of Mcdonald County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 23,303 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 Noel
Does Noel have a public library?
Yes: Noel Community Library, 626 Johnson Dr, is a branch of Mcdonald County Library, which serves 23,303 people. The branch is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mcdonald 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 Noel’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 1.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Noel’s civic life grade?
D Noel is ahead of 11% 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 Noel.
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.