Polk Township’s library logs 2.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Maryville Public Library serves 10,633 people in and around Polk Township. Last year it lent 69K books, movies and e-books and logged 23K visits.
What Polk Township’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
91% of the 201 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.7 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 58% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 69% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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.
What’s behind Polk Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Polk Township is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #115 of 229 in Missouri. Polk Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Polk Township’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 →
77 community nonprofits are registered in Polk Township
5.5 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 (15 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.9%
6.9% of Polk Township’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 Polk Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Maryville Public Library serves 10,633 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 26 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
69K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 40K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
19,817 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, 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
Maryville Public Library, 509 N Main St., Maryville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Polk Township? 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 $2.01 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Polk Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $515K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $515K 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 3,442 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polk Township | Maryville Public Library fine-free | 6.5 | 51 | B |
| Union Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| White Cloud Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Nodaway Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Monroe Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Green Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Jackson Township | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
| Jefferson Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Grant Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Hughes Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Polk Township
Does Polk Township have a public library?
Yes. Maryville Public Library, 509 N Main St., serves 10,633 people in and around Polk Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Maryville Public 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 Polk Township’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 6.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Polk Township’s civic life grade?
B Polk Township is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on civic life, #115 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 Polk Township.
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.