Photo: Paltron · CC BY-SA 4.0Thayer’s library is a branch of Oregon County Library District, which lends less per resident than 62% of systems its size
Thayer’s library is the Thayer Public Library, a branch of Oregon County Library District, which serves 8,635 people and lent 30K items last year.
What Thayer’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, the Oregon County Library District system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Oregon County Library District system offered 42 programs last year, 4.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. 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; Thayer’s library is a branch of Oregon County Library District, so they cover the whole system (8,635 people), not just the Thayer branch.
What’s behind Thayer’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Thayer is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns. Thayer is graded on two of the three inputs. Thayer’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($28K–$47K) 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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Thayer
3.8 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.5%
4.5% of Thayer’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 Thayer’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Oregon County Library District serves 8,635 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Oregon County Library District system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
30K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,110 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
42 programs a year
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
Thayer Public Library, 121 N 2nd St., Thayer.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Oregon County Library District branch.
New in Thayer? 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 $1.98 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Thayer cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $255K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $505K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $255K 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 2,943 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thayer | Thayer Public Library | — | 48 | C− |
| Mammoth Spring | Fulton County Library- Mammoth Spring | — | 38 | — graded with its twin city |
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. Thayer Public Library is one branch of Oregon County Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 8,635 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 Thayer
Does Thayer have a public library?
Yes: Thayer Public Library, 121 N 2nd St., is a branch of Oregon County Library District, which serves 8,635 people. The branch is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Oregon 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 Thayer’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 3.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Thayer’s civic life grade?
C− Thayer is ahead of 20% 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 Thayer.
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.