Beverly Theater · Photo: Gavreh · CC BY-SA 3.0University City’s library lends 5.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
University City Public Library serves University City’s 35,065 residents. Last year it lent 271K books, movies and e-books and logged 74K visits.
The short version on University City’s library
Open about 72 hours a week
University City Public Library is open about 72 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 72 items go out. The building ↓
University City invests in its library
University City Public Library spends $111 per resident a year, about three times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (93%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
75% of University City carry a library card
26,185 cards for 35,065 people, or 75%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
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.
What’s behind University City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, University City is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #120 of 229 in Missouri. University City’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
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 →
194 community nonprofits are registered in University City
5.6 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 (55 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.9%
8.9% of University City’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 University City’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
University City Public Library serves 35,065 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 72 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
271K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 178K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
64,535 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in University City last year.
Find it
University City Public Library, 6701 Delmar Blvd, University City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in University City? 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 University City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.9M 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 26,185 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University City | University City Public Library fine-free | 7.7 | 72 | B |
| Clayton | Mid-County Branch fine-free | — | 64 | A |
| Vinita Park | Parkview Branch fine-free | — | 64 | C |
| Pagedale | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Ladue | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Wellston | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Olivette | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Overland | None of its own | — | — | C− |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 University City
Does University City have a public library?
Yes. University City Public Library, 6701 Delmar Blvd, serves University City’s 35,065 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 72 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is University City Public 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 University City’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 7.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is University City’s civic life grade?
B University City is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on civic life, #120 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 University City.
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.