Photo: Kbh3rd · CC BY 4.0Trenton’s library logs 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Grundy County-Jewett Norris Library serves 9,808 people in and around Trenton. Last year it lent 23K books, movies and e-books and logged 8,105 visits.
What Trenton’s library is like
Grundy County-Jewett Norris Library is used less than most libraries its size
Grundy County-Jewett Norris Library records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Grundy County-Jewett Norris Library offered 87 programs last year, 8.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
71% of the 87 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.1 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; Grundy County-Jewett Norris Library serves 9,808 people in and around Trenton, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Trenton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Trenton is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #52 of 229 in Missouri. Trenton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Trenton’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
48 community nonprofits are registered in Trenton
8.7 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 (20 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.9%
7.9% of Trenton’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 Trenton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Grundy County-Jewett Norris Library serves 9,808 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Grundy County-Jewett Norris Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
23K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
6,809 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
Grundy County-Jewett Norris Library, 1331 Main St., Trenton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Grundy County-Jewett Norris Library branch.
New in Trenton? 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 $1.09 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Trenton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $327K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $356K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $327K 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 5,270 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trenton | Grundy County-Jewett Norris Library fine-free | — | 48 | A− |
| Trenton Township | Grundy County-Jewett Norris Library fine-free | — | 48 | — graded with its twin city |
| Lincoln Township | 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. Grundy County-Jewett Norris Library serves 9,808 people in and around Trenton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Trenton.
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 Trenton
Does Trenton have a public library?
Yes. Grundy County-Jewett Norris Library, 1331 Main St., serves 9,808 people in and around Trenton (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Grundy County-Jewett Norris 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 Trenton’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 2.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Trenton’s civic life grade?
A− Trenton is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on civic life, #52 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 Trenton.
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.