Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Drew

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Welcome to Drew Mississippi signPhoto: Chillin662 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Drew Public Library · part of Sunflower County Library

Drew’s library is a branch of Sunflower County Library, which lends less per resident than 95% of systems its size

Drew’s library is the Drew Public Library, a branch of Sunflower County Library, which serves 24,468 people and lent 19K items last year.

290 West Park Avenue, Drew 38737 · about 20 hours a week
D−Civic lifeAhead of 4% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (662) 745-2237 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
19K
0.8 per resident
Visits a year
15K
0.6 per resident · Below typical (3.1)
Programs & events
443
about 9 a week · 2,362 attended
Cardholders
58%
14,105 cards
Open
20 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

Drew’s library, in brief

The Sunflower County Library system is used less than most libraries its size

The Sunflower County Library system records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓

Open only about 20 hours a week

The Drew branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓

Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf

Only 7% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 96% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓

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; Drew’s library is a branch of Sunflower County Library, so they cover the whole system (24,468 people), not just the Drew branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Drew’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Drew is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns. Drew is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Drew’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.

D−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Drew’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureC−Community nonprofits2.4 per 1,000 residents · MS towns 2.8 · U.S. 3.7D−Volunteering2.7% of adults 25–44 · MS towns 4.4% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 4%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $18K–$30K (138)Ahead of 18%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($18K–$30K) 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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Drew is small (1,658 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

5 community nonprofits are registered in Drew

2.4 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 & culture00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans31.41 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.47 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.47 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

2.7%

2.7% of Drew’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.4% in the typical Mississippi 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 Drew’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 0.6 visits · typical 3.1Bottom 10%
Borrowing per resident 0.7 print items · typical 3.9Bottom 10%
Digital borrowing 0.1 e-items · typical 1.1Bottom 10%
Kids’ borrowing 0.1 kids’ items · typical 1.8Bottom 10%
Program attendance 0.1 attendees · typical 0.4Bottom 10%
Programs offered 18.1 per 1,000 residents · typical 24Lower than 63%
Cardholders 58% of residents · typical 40%Higher than 77%
Spending $27 per resident · typical $43Lower than 74%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Sunflower County Library serves 24,468 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sunflower County Library system. The library’s own count.

15K
visits
0.6 per resident
19K
loans, print + digital
0.8 per resident
443
programs & events
2,362 attended
14K
library cards
58% of people served
Every open hour3items borrowed
Every week45people at a program
Every day387Wi-Fi sessions
11 staff (full-time equivalent)34 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

19K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

19Kloans
Books & media (adults) 75%Kids’ books & media 18%E-books, audio & streaming 7%
From your couch

1,320 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 4 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Drew →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–583
Ages 6–11118
Teens41
Adults143
All ages58
Little ones
1.6

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

3,382
kids’ books & media borrowed
2,362
people at programs
443
programs
The building

Find it

Drew Public Library, 290 West Park Avenue, Drew.

Directions(662) 745-2237
20
hours open a week
4,360
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sunflower County Library branch.

New in Drew? 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 $1.12 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Drew cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
1
Your card saves you about
$240
a year at retail prices · $20 a month

Who pays for it
$27 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $662K.

Local taxes 83%State 11%Federal 1%Gifts & other 5%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $743K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $662K 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 14,105 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. Drew Public Library is one branch of Sunflower County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 24,468 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 Drew

Does Drew have a public library?

Yes: Drew Public Library, 290 West Park Avenue, is a branch of Sunflower County Library, which serves 24,468 people. The branch is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Sunflower County 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 Drew’s library?

It logged 0.6 visits and lent 0.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.

What is Drew’s civic life grade?

D− Drew is ahead of 4% 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 Drew.

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.