St. Stephen's Episcopal Church · Photo: Melodibit · CC BY-SA 3.0Chandler’s library runs 43 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Chandler Public Library serves Chandler’s 2,924 residents. Last year it lent 13K books, movies and e-books and logged 3,272 visits.
Chandler’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
3,532 cards for 2,924 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Most of Chandler’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 60% of loans, more per resident than at 86% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 40%. What people borrow ↓
Programs are almost all for children
89% of the 125 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.
What’s behind Chandler’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Chandler is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #93 of 128 in Oklahoma. Chandler’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($35K–$58K) 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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Chandler
4.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.0%
8.0% of Chandler’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 Chandler’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Chandler Public Library serves 2,924 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
60% of borrowing is digital
13K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
7,897 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
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 Chandler last year.
Find it
Chandler Public Library, 1021 S Manvel, Chandler.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Chandler? 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 $1.43 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chandler cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $146K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $208K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $146K 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 3,532 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Chandler Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Chandler
Does Chandler have a public library?
Yes. Chandler Public Library, 1021 S Manvel, serves Chandler’s 2,924 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chandler Public 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 Chandler’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 4.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Chandler’s civic life grade?
C+ Chandler is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on civic life, #93 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 Chandler.
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.