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Atoka county ok cocPhoto: Larry D. Moore This photo was taken with Samsung Galaxy S4 · CC BY 4.0
Atoka County Library · part of Southern Oklahoma Library System

Atoka’s library is a branch of Southern Oklahoma Library System, which lends more per resident than 93% of systems its size

Atoka’s library is the Atoka County Library, a branch of Southern Oklahoma Library System, which serves 97,387 people and lent 1.2M items last year.

279 East A Street, Atoka 74525 · about 30 hours a week
A−Civic lifeAhead of 77% of U.S. towns · #31 of 128 in Oklahoma. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (580) 889-3555 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
1.2M
12.2 per resident
Visits a year
298K
3.1 per resident · Above typical (2.6)
Programs & events
1,773
about 34 a week · 43K attended
Cardholders
93%
90,359 cards
Open
30 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

Atoka’s library, in brief

Busy on a lean budget

The Southern Oklahoma Library System spends $17 per resident, less than 85% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). It’s still borrowed from more than 77% of them. What your card is worth ↓

A system of heavy borrowers

The Southern Oklahoma Library System lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 93% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓

Nearly everyone the system serves has a card

90,359 cards for 97,387 people, or 93%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓

Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf

Only 4% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 80% 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; Atoka’s library is a branch of Southern Oklahoma Library System, so they cover the whole system (97,387 people), not just the Atoka branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Atoka’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Atoka is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #31 of 128 in Oklahoma. Atoka is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Atoka’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.

A−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Atoka’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureC+Community nonprofits3.1 per 1,000 residents · OK towns 3.3 · U.S. 3.7A+Volunteering17.7% of adults 25–44 · OK towns 9.7% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 77%
FewerMore
Oklahoma towns we grade (128)Ahead of 76%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $33K–$55K (3,131)Ahead of 77%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Atoka is small (2,975 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

9 community nonprofits are registered in Atoka

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

Arts & culture10.21 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.21 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans20.86 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.21 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education20.86 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.31 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.10 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.31 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

17.7%

17.7% of Atoka’s 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 Atoka’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

1.2M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

1.2Mloans
Books & media (adults) 74%Kids’ books & media 23%E-books, audio & streaming 4%
From your couch

42,961 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 3.1 visits · typical 2.6Higher than 60%
Borrowing per resident 11.7 print items · typical 3.7Top 10%
Digital borrowing 0.4 e-items · typical 1.2Lower than 80%
Kids’ borrowing 2.7 kids’ items · typical 1.7Higher than 71%
Program attendance 0.4 attendees · typical 0.3Higher than 66%
Programs offered 18.2 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Higher than 64%
Cardholders 93% of residents · typical 39%Top 10%
Spending $17 per resident · typical $40Lower than 85%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Southern Oklahoma Library System serves 97,387 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 91 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Southern Oklahoma Library System system. The library’s own count.

298K
visits
3.1 per resident
1.2M
loans, print + digital
12.2 per resident
1,773
programs & events
43K attended
90K
library cards
93% of people served
Every open hour91items borrowed
Every week829people at a program
Every day340Wi-Fi sessions
17 staff (full-time equivalent)40 public computers
Kids & programs

About 13 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Atoka →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5363
Ages 6–11333
Teens400
Adults607
All ages70
Little ones
7

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

267K
kids’ books & media borrowed
43K
people at programs
1,773
programs
The building

Find it

Atoka County Library, 279 East A Street, Atoka.

Directions(580) 889-3555
30
hours open a week
5,000
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Southern Oklahoma Library System branch.

New in Atoka? 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 $11.79 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Atoka 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
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$17 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.7M.

Local taxes 82%State 1%Federal 1%Gifts & other 16%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.7M 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 90,359 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Atoka County Library is one branch of Southern Oklahoma Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 97,387 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 Atoka

Does Atoka have a public library?

Yes: Atoka County Library, 279 East A Street, is a branch of Southern Oklahoma Library System, which serves 97,387 people. The branch is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Southern Oklahoma 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 Atoka’s library?

It logged 3.1 visits and lent 12.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is Atoka’s civic life grade?

A− Atoka is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on civic life, #31 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 Atoka.

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.