Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0Potosi’s library runs 3.4 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Washington County Library serves 23,514 people in and around Potosi. Last year it lent 45K books, movies and e-books and logged 41K visits.
Potosi’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
Washington County Library offered 81 programs last year, 3.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Programs are almost all for children
80% of the 81 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
20,656 cards for 23,514 people, or 88%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
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; Washington County Library serves 23,514 people in and around Potosi, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Potosi’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Potosi is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #101 of 229 in Missouri. Potosi is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Potosi’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Potosi
3.3 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.3%
10.3% of Potosi’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 Potosi’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.
Washington County Library serves 23,514 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Washington County Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
45K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
5,322 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Washington County Library, 235 E High St., Potosi.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Washington County Library branch.
New in Potosi? 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 $1.30 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Potosi cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $520K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $675K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $520K 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 20,656 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Washington County Library serves 23,514 people in and around Potosi, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Potosi.
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 Potosi
Does Potosi have a public library?
Yes. Washington County Library, 235 E High St., serves 23,514 people in and around Potosi (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Washington 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 Potosi’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Potosi’s civic life grade?
B+ Potosi is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on civic life, #101 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 Potosi.
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.