Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0Altus’ library is a branch of Southern Prairie Library System, which lends less per resident than 83% of systems its size
Altus’s library is the Altus Public Library, a branch of Southern Prairie Library System, which serves 27,061 people and lent 65K items last year.
What Altus’s library is like
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 76% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 17%. The building also logs about 101 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
47% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 50%. What your card is worth ↓
44% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 44% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. 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; Altus’s library is a branch of Southern Prairie Library System, so they cover the whole system (27,061 people), not just the Altus branch.
What’s behind Altus’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Altus is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns, #107 of 128 in Oklahoma. Altus 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.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($41K–$69K) 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 →
58 community nonprofits are registered in Altus
3.1 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 (15 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.9%
6.9% of Altus’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 9.7% in the typical Oklahoma 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 Altus’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Southern Prairie Library System serves 27,061 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Southern Prairie Library System system. The library’s own count.
44% of borrowing is digital
65K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
28,546 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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
Altus Public Library, 421 N. Hudson, Altus.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Southern Prairie Library System branch.
New in Altus? 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 $1.66 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Altus cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $726K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $726K 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 18,728 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Altus Public Library is one branch of Southern Prairie Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 27,061 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 Altus
Does Altus have a public library?
Yes: Altus Public Library, 421 N. Hudson, is a branch of Southern Prairie Library System, which serves 27,061 people. The branch is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Southern Prairie Library System 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 Altus’ library?
It logged 4.0 visits and lent 2.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Altus’ civic life grade?
C Altus is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on civic life, #107 of 128 in Oklahoma. 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 Altus.
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.