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Cimarron County Courthouse June 2024Photo: StormChaserAmelia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Boise City Soutar Memorial Library

Boise City’s library lends 0.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size

Boise City Soutar Memorial Library serves 2,091 people in and around Boise City. Last year it lent 4,491 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,360 visits.

4 S Ellis Ave, Boise City 73933 · about 30 hours a week
A−Civic lifeAhead of 84% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (580) 544-2715 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
4,491
2.1 per resident
Visits a year
4,360
2.1 per resident · Below typical (3.5)
Programs & events
130
about 3 a week · 712 attended
Cardholders
23%
482 cards
Open
30 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on Boise City’s library

Most of the library’s borrowing is digital

E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 93% of loans, more per resident than at 73% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 7%. What people borrow ↓

People visit, but borrow less than most

Boise City Soutar Memorial Library lends 0.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, fewer than 99% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓

Oklahoma pays a big share

27% of the budget comes from the state, and 66% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓

Most programs are for young children

76% of the 130 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Boise City Soutar Memorial Library serves 2,091 people in and around Boise City, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Boise City’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Boise City is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns. Boise City is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Boise City’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.

A−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Boise City’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureA−Community nonprofits5.9 per 1,000 residents · OK towns 3.3 · U.S. 3.7B+Volunteering8.9% of adults 25–44 · OK towns 9.7% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 84%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $33K–$54K (2,915)Ahead of 84%

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. Boise City is small (1,040 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

7 community nonprofits are registered in Boise City

5.9 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 & culture10.62 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.62 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans21.33 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services21.33 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.62 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other21.33 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

8.9%

8.9% of Boise City’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 Boise City’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · What people borrow

93% of borrowing is digital

4,491 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

4,491loans
Books & media (adults) 5%Kids’ books & media 2%E-books, audio & streaming 93%
From your couch

4,167 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 2 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.1 visits · typical 3.5Lower than 73%
Borrowing per resident 0.2 print items · typical 3.9Bottom 10%
Digital borrowing 2 e-items · typical 1Higher than 73%
Kids’ borrowing 0 kids’ items · typical 1.4Bottom 10%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.7Lower than 70%
Programs offered 62.2 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Higher than 52%
Cardholders 23% of residents · typical 54%Lower than 85%
Spending $23 per resident · typical $54Lower than 88%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Boise City Soutar Memorial Library serves 2,091 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Boise City Soutar Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.

4,360
visits
2.1 per resident
4,491
loans, print + digital
2.1 per resident
130
programs & events
712 attended
482
library cards
23% of people served
Every open hour3items borrowed
Every week14people at a program
Every day4Wi-Fi sessions
1 staff (full-time equivalent)2 public computers
Kids & programs

About 2 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Boise City →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–554
Ages 6–1145
Teens24
Adults7
All ages0
Little ones
1

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

104
kids’ books & media borrowed
712
people at programs
130
programs
The building

Find it

Boise City Soutar Memorial Library, 4 S Ellis Ave, Boise City.

Directions(580) 544-2715
30
hours open a week
2,500
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Boise City Soutar Memorial Library branch.

New in Boise City? 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 $1.65 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Boise City cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
1
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$384
a year at retail prices · $32 a month

Who pays for it
$23 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $48K.

Local taxes 66%State 27%Federal 3%Gifts & other 4%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $79K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $48K 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 482 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. Boise City Soutar Memorial Library serves 2,091 people in and around Boise City, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Boise City.

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 Boise City

Does Boise City have a public library?

Yes. Boise City Soutar Memorial Library, 4 S Ellis Ave, serves 2,091 people in and around Boise City (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Boise City Soutar Memorial 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 Boise City’s library?

It logged 2.1 visits and lent 2.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Boise City’s civic life grade?

A− Boise City is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Boise City.

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.