Amos Deason House · Photo: Librarylady2726 · CC BY-SA 3.0Ellisville’s library is a branch of Laurel-Jones County Library System, Inc., which lends less per resident than 87% of systems its size
Ellisville’s library is the Ellisville Public Library, a branch of Laurel-Jones County Library System, Inc., which serves 66,250 people and lent 80K items last year.
Ellisville’s library, in brief
The Laurel-Jones County Library System, Inc. system is used less than most libraries its size
The Laurel-Jones County Library System, Inc. system records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $17 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Laurel-Jones County Library System, Inc. system offered 372 programs last year, 5.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 8% 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; Ellisville’s library is a branch of Laurel-Jones County Library System, Inc., so they cover the whole system (66,250 people), not just the Ellisville branch.
What’s behind Ellisville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ellisville is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns, #47 of 85 in Mississippi. Ellisville is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Laurel-Jones County Library System, Inc. spends $17 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($24K–$40K) 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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Ellisville
1.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.9%
6.9% of Ellisville’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 Ellisville’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Laurel-Jones County Library System, Inc. serves 66,250 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Laurel-Jones County Library System, Inc. system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
80K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
6,267 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 kids’ programs 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
Ellisville Public Library, 201 Poplar Street, Ellisville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Laurel-Jones County Library System, Inc. branch.
New in Ellisville? 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 $1.29 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ellisville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 37,427 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellisville | Ellisville Public Library | — | 44 | C− |
| Laurel | Laurel-Jones County Library | — | 52 | 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.
- System-wide. Ellisville Public Library is one branch of Laurel-Jones County Library System, Inc., so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 66,250 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 Ellisville
Does Ellisville have a public library?
Yes: Ellisville Public Library, 201 Poplar Street, is a branch of Laurel-Jones County Library System, Inc., which serves 66,250 people. The branch is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Laurel-Jones County Library System, Inc. 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 Ellisville’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 1.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Ellisville’s civic life grade?
C− Ellisville is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns on civic life, #47 of 85 in Mississippi. 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 Ellisville.
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.