Salem Township’s library is a branch of Dunklin County Library, which lends more per resident than 79% of systems its size
Salem Township’s library is the Senath Branch Library, a branch of Dunklin County Library, which serves 28,283 people and lent 212K items last year.
The short version on Salem Township’s library
Few programs for a library this size
The Dunklin County Library system offered 139 programs last year, 4.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Salem Township branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 4% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 87% 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; Salem Township’s library is a branch of Dunklin County Library, so they cover the whole system (28,283 people), not just the Salem Township branch.
What’s behind Salem Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Salem Township is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns. Salem Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Salem Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($30K–$50K) 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 →
3 community nonprofits are registered in Salem Township
1.2 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.1%
9.1% of Salem 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 Salem Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Dunklin County Library serves 28,283 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Dunklin County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
212K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
7,635 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
Senath Branch Library, 108 N Main St., Senath.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Dunklin County Library branch.
New in Salem 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 $4.63 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Salem Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $774K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $774K 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 18,200 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Township | Senath Branch Library | — | 20 | C |
| Independence Township | Dunklin County Library | — | 48 | C− |
| Clay Township | Hornersville Branch Library | — | 12 | D |
| Buffalo Township | Cardwell Branch Library | — | 24 | D− |
| Arbyrd | 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.
- System-wide. Senath Branch Library is one branch of Dunklin County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 28,283 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 Salem Township
Does Salem Township have a public library?
Yes: Senath Branch Library, 108 N Main St., is a branch of Dunklin County Library, which serves 28,283 people. The branch is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dunklin 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 Salem Township’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 7.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Salem Township’s civic life grade?
C Salem Township is ahead of 31% 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 Salem 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.