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Robert C. Irwin Public Library · part of First Regional Library

Tunica’s library is a branch of First Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 64% of systems its size

Tunica’s library is the Robert C. Irwin Public Library, a branch of First Regional Library, which serves 321,878 people and lent 917K items last year.

1285 Kenny Hill Avenue, Tunica 38676 · about 48 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
917K
2.8 per resident
Visits a year
583K
1.8 per resident · Below typical (2.1)
Programs & events
3,046
about 59 a week · 90K attended
Cardholders
66%
211,853 cards
Open
48 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about Robert C. Irwin Public Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Tunica’s civic life grade

Tunica isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Tunica’s overall grade.

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 →

★ What stands out · How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.8 visits · typical 2.1Lower than 63%
Borrowing per resident 2.5 print items · typical 3.2Lower than 64%
Digital borrowing 0.4 e-items · typical 1.4Lower than 89%
Kids’ borrowing 1.1 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 70%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.2Higher than 66%
Programs offered 9.5 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Higher than 50%
Cardholders 66% of residents · typical 41%Higher than 84%
Spending $17 per resident · typical $36Lower than 87%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

First Regional Library serves 321,878 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out

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

583K
visits
1.8 per resident
917K
loans, print + digital
2.8 per resident
3,046
programs & events
90K attended
212K
library cards
66% of people served
Every open hour29items borrowed
Every week1,733people at a program
Every day4,223Wi-Fi sessions
85 staff (full-time equivalent)230 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

917K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

917Kloans
Books & media (adults) 50%Kids’ books & media 37%E-books, audio & streaming 13%
From your couch

115,623 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 35 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Tunica →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–51,340
Ages 6–11494
Teens291
Adults655
All ages266
Little ones
25.8

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

342K
kids’ books & media borrowed
90K
people at programs
3,046
programs
The building

Find it

Robert C. Irwin Public Library, 1285 Kenny Hill Avenue, Tunica.

48
hours open a week
13,320
square feet
With a card

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

New in Tunica? 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 $3.53 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tunica 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
$17 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $5.4M.

Local taxes 81%State 13%Federal 0%Gifts & other 6%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $19M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.4M 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 211,853 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
TunicaRobert C. Irwin Public Library—48— under 1,000 residents
North TunicaNone 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).

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Robert C. Irwin Public Library is one branch of First Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 321,878 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 Tunica

Does Tunica have a public library?

Yes: Robert C. Irwin Public Library, 1285 Kenny Hill Avenue, is a branch of First Regional Library, which serves 321,878 people. The branch is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is First Regional Library 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 Tunica’s library?

It logged 1.8 visits and lent 2.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Tunica’s civic life grade?

Tunica isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Tunica.

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.