Photo: Chillin662 · CC BY-SA 4.0Yazoo City’s library is a branch of Yazoo Library Association, which lends less per resident than 96% of systems its size
Yazoo City’s library is the B. S. Ricks Memorial Library, a branch of Yazoo Library Association, which serves 25,796 people and lent 14K items last year.
The short version on Yazoo City’s library
Few programs for a library this size
The Yazoo Library Association system offered 68 programs last year, 2.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Programs are almost all for children
88% of the 68 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 50 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Ricks Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975. Today’s library there has 17,433 square feet. The building ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
The Yazoo Library Association system lends 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, fewer than 96% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
Federal money pays a real share
5% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 71% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
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; Yazoo City’s library is a branch of Yazoo Library Association, so they cover the whole system (25,796 people), not just the Yazoo City branch.
What’s behind Yazoo City’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Yazoo City is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns, #72 of 85 in Mississippi. Yazoo City is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Yazoo City’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Yazoo Library Association spends $11 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($21K–$35K) 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Yazoo City
2.5 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.0%
2.0% of Yazoo City’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 Yazoo City’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.
Yazoo Library Association serves 25,796 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Yazoo Library Association system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
14K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,103 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.
A National Register landmark since 1975
B. S. Ricks Memorial Library, 310 North Main Street, Yazoo City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Yazoo Library Association branch.
New in Yazoo City? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Ricks Memorial Library
Ricks Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Sep 18, 1975. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Beaux Arts Classicism.
The B.S. Ricks Memorial Library is a historic library in Yazoo City, Mississippi. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 18, 1975. It is located at 310 North Main Street. The library was founded in 1838 as a membership library. In 1900 Fannie Ricks helped fund construction of the B. S. Ricks Memorial Library building, named after her late husband General B.S. Ricks.
More about the building →What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Yazoo City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $291K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $245K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $291K 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 16,651 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. B. S. Ricks Memorial Library is one branch of Yazoo Library Association, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 25,796 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 Yazoo City
Does Yazoo City have a public library?
Yes: B. S. Ricks Memorial Library, 310 North Main Street, is a branch of Yazoo Library Association, which serves 25,796 people. The branch is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Yazoo Library Association 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 Yazoo City’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 0.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Yazoo City’s civic life grade?
D− Yazoo City is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns on civic life, #72 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 Yazoo 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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.