Photo: Raschmidt87 · CC BY-SA 4.0Springfield’s library is a branch of Springfield-Greene County Library District, which lends more per resident than 83% of systems its size
Springfield’s library is the The Library Center, a branch of Springfield-Greene County Library District, which serves 298,915 people and lent 2.7M items last year.
Springfield’s library, in brief
Open about 75 hours a week
The Springfield branch is open about 75 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
The Springfield-Greene County Library District system logs 4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 90% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 6.8 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 3,815 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 37 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Five branches in Springfield
Springfield has five branches of the Springfield-Greene County Library District, which serves 298,915 people across the area. One card works at all of them, and at every other branch in the system. The buildings ↓
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; Springfield’s library is a branch of Springfield-Greene County Library District, so they cover the whole system (298,915 people), not just the Springfield branch.
What’s behind Springfield’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Springfield is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #56 of 229 in Missouri. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #16. Springfield 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 →
702 community nonprofits are registered in Springfield
4.1 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 (346 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 44 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
12.1%
12.1% of Springfield’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 Springfield’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 92 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Springfield-Greene County Library District system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Springfield-Greene County Library District serves 298,915 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2.7M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
683,101 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 50 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.
5 places to borrow in Springfield
The Library Center, 4653 S Campbell Ave, Springfield.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Springfield-Greene County Library District branch.
New in Springfield? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Springfield-Greene County Library District branches in Springfield
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.77 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Springfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $15M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $43M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $15M 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 101,061 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.
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. The Library Center is one branch of Springfield-Greene County Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 298,915 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 Springfield
Does Springfield have a public library?
Yes: The Library Center, 4653 S Campbell Ave, is a branch of Springfield-Greene County Library District, which serves 298,915 people. The branch is open about 75 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Springfield-Greene County Library District 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 Springfield’s library?
It logged 4.0 visits and lent 9.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Springfield’s civic life grade?
A− Springfield is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life, #56 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 Springfield.
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.