Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0Normandy’s library is a branch of Saint Louis County Library, which lends more per resident than 90% of systems its size
Normandy’s library is the Natural Bridge Branch, a branch of Saint Louis County Library, which serves 863,407 people and lent 1M items last year.
Normandy’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Saint Louis County Library system logs 4.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 8.3 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
818,923 cards for 863,407 people, or 95%. At the typical library serving 100,000+ people, it’s 41%. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 50% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.8 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. It’s 31% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Open about 64 hours a week
The Normandy branch is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
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; Normandy’s library is a branch of Saint Louis County Library, so they cover the whole system (863,407 people), not just the Normandy branch.
What’s behind Normandy’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Normandy is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns, #208 of 229 in Missouri. Normandy is graded on two of the three inputs. Normandy’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in Normandy
3.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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.
4.1%
4.1% of Normandy’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 Normandy’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 139 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Saint Louis County Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: funding. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Saint Louis County Library serves 863,407 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,296,437 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 141 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
Natural Bridge Branch, 7606 Natural Bridge Rd., St. Louis.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Saint Louis County Library branch.
New in Normandy? 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 $2.59 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Normandy cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $61M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $159M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $61M 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 818,923 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferguson | Ferguson Municipal Public Library District fine-free | 2.3 | 60 | C+ |
| Normandy | Natural Bridge Branch fine-free | — | 64 | C− |
| Cool Valley | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Bellerive Acres | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Bel-Nor | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Pasadena Park | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Pasadena Hills | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
| Norwood Court | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Velda City | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Hillsdale | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Wellston | None of its own | — | — | D |
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.
- Not reported for 2024: funding. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Natural Bridge Branch is one branch of Saint Louis County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 863,407 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 Normandy
Does Normandy have a public library?
Yes: Natural Bridge Branch, 7606 Natural Bridge Rd., is a branch of Saint Louis County Library, which serves 863,407 people. The branch is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Saint Louis 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 Normandy’s library?
It logged 4.1 visits and lent 12.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Normandy’s civic life grade?
C− Normandy is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns on civic life, #208 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 Normandy.
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.