Cook Blacksmith Shop · Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainPonca’s library runs 104 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Ponca Carnegie Library serves Ponca’s 895 residents. Last year it lent 4,498 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,822 visits.
Ponca’s library, in brief
Most of Ponca’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 72% of loans, more per resident than at 91% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 28%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Well funded, but lightly used
Ponca Carnegie Library spends $104 per resident, more than 84% of similar-size libraries. Use doesn’t match: visits per resident are lower than at 74% of them. What your card is worth ↓
More library cards than residents
894 cards for 895 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Ponca Carnegie Library serves 895 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 30 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Programs lean toward adults
62% of the 93 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 34 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Ponca’s civic life grade
Ponca isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
72% of borrowing is digital
4,498 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
3,230 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Ponca Carnegie Library serves 895 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
93 programs a year
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 Ponca last year.
Find it
Ponca Carnegie Library, 200 West Second Street, Ponca.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Ponca? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ponca cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $93K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $70K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $93K 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 894 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Ponca
Does Ponca have a public library?
Yes. Ponca Carnegie Library, 200 West Second Street, serves Ponca’s 895 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ponca Carnegie 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 Ponca’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 5.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Ponca’s civic life grade?
Ponca 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 Ponca.
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.