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Strafford Branch Library · part of Springfield-Greene County Library District

Strafford’s library is a branch of Springfield-Greene County Library District, which lends more per resident than 83% of systems its size

Strafford’s library is the Strafford Branch Library, a branch of Springfield-Greene County Library District, which serves 298,915 people and lent 2.7M items last year.

101 S State Highway 125, Strafford 65757 · about 46 hours a week
B−Civic lifeAhead of 47% of U.S. towns · #156 of 229 in Missouri. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (417) 736-9233 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
2.7M
9.1 per resident
Visits a year
1.2M
4 per resident · Above typical (2.1)
Programs & events
3,815
about 73 a week · 79K attended
Cardholders
34%
101,061 cards
Open
46 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Strafford’s library is like

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 ↓

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; Strafford’s library is a branch of Springfield-Greene County Library District, so they cover the whole system (298,915 people), not just the Strafford branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Strafford’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Strafford is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #156 of 229 in Missouri. Strafford is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Strafford’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.

B−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Strafford’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureC−Community nonprofits2.2 per 1,000 residents · MO towns 3.8 · U.S. 3.7A−Volunteering10.2% of adults 25–44 · MO towns 9.3% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 47%
FewerMore
Missouri towns we grade (229)Ahead of 32%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $49K–$81K (8,508)Ahead of 44%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Strafford is small (2,789 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

6 community nonprofits are registered in Strafford

2.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.11 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation00.11 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans20.60 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.22 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education20.60 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.22 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.22 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

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.

Volunteering

10.2%

10.2% of Strafford’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 Strafford’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · A year at the library

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.

1.2M
visits
4 per resident
2.7M
loans, print + digital
9.1 per resident
3,815
programs & events
79K attended
101K
library cards
34% of people served
Every open hour92items borrowed
Every week1,512people at a program
Every day1,347Wi-Fi sessions
195 staff (full-time equivalent)241 public computers
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 4 visits · typical 2.1Top 10%
Borrowing per resident 6.8 print items · typical 3.2Higher than 83%
Digital borrowing 2.3 e-items · typical 1.4Higher than 70%
Kids’ borrowing 2.8 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 76%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.2Higher than 62%
Programs offered 12.8 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Higher than 67%
Cardholders 34% of residents · typical 41%Lower than 65%
Spending $51 per resident · typical $36Higher than 68%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Springfield-Greene County Library District serves 298,915 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

2.7M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

2.7Mloans
Books & media (adults) 43%Kids’ books & media 31%E-books, audio & streaming 25%
From your couch

683,101 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 50 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Strafford →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–51,934
Ages 6–11674
Teens211
Adults995
All ages1
Little ones
37.2

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

846K
kids’ books & media borrowed
79K
people at programs
3,815
programs
The building

Find it

Strafford Branch Library, 101 S State Highway 125, Strafford.

Directions(417) 736-9233
46
hours open a week
2,500
square feet
With a card

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 Strafford? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

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 Strafford cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
1
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$528
a year at retail prices · $44 a month

Who pays for it
$51 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $15M.

Local taxes 88%State 2%Federal 0%Gifts & other 10%

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.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Strafford Branch Library 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 Strafford

Does Strafford have a public library?

Yes: Strafford Branch Library, 101 S State Highway 125, is a branch of Springfield-Greene County Library District, which serves 298,915 people. The branch is open about 46 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 Strafford’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 Strafford’s civic life grade?

B− Strafford is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on civic life, #156 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 Strafford.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.