Photo: Kbh3rd · CC BY 4.0Palmyra’s library lends 7.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Marion County Library Sub-District #1 serves 6,734 people in and around Palmyra. Last year it lent 60K books, movies and e-books and logged 20K visits.
Palmyra’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 59% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 237 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Marion County Library Sub-District #1 serves 6,734 people in and around Palmyra, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Palmyra’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Palmyra is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #8 of 229 in Missouri. Palmyra is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
23 community nonprofits are registered in Palmyra
6.4 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.4%
13.4% of Palmyra’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 Palmyra’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Marion County Library Sub-District #1 serves 6,734 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Marion County Library Sub-District #1 system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
60K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
12,123 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Marion County Library Sub-District #1, 212 S. Main St., Palmyra.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Marion County Library Sub-District #1 branch.
New in Palmyra? 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 $3.81 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Palmyra cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $251K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $956K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $251K 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 2,652 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Marion County Library Sub-District #1 serves 6,734 people in and around Palmyra, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Palmyra.
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 Palmyra
Does Palmyra have a public library?
Yes. Marion County Library Sub-District #1, 212 S. Main St., serves 6,734 people in and around Palmyra (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Marion County Library Sub-District #1 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 Palmyra’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 8.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Palmyra’s civic life grade?
A+ Palmyra is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on civic life, #8 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 Palmyra.
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.