Photo: David Marshall · CC BY-SA 3.0Dewey’s library logs 5.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Dewey Tyler Memorial Library serves Dewey’s 3,419 residents. Last year it lent 10K books, movies and e-books and logged 19K visits.
The short version on Dewey’s library
Top 10% in Oklahoma for library use
Dewey ranks #6 of 60 Oklahoma towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 5.5 visits per resident, more than at 78% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Dewey Tyler Memorial Library offered 27 programs last year, 7.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% 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.
What’s behind Dewey’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Dewey is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #20 of 128 in Oklahoma. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Dewey’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
30 community nonprofits are registered in Dewey
8.8 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.7%
7.7% of Dewey’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 Dewey’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Dewey Tyler Memorial Library serves 3,419 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
10K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
27 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 Dewey last year.
Find it
Dewey Tyler Memorial Library, 821 N Shawnee, Dewey.
Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Dewey? 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 $1.60 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dewey cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $101K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $162K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $101K 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 1,894 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bartlesville | Bartlesville Public Library | 11.2 | 65 | A− |
| Dewey | Dewey Tyler Memorial Library | 3.0 | 48 | A− |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Dewey Tyler Memorial 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 Dewey
Does Dewey have a public library?
Yes. Dewey Tyler Memorial Library, 821 N Shawnee, serves Dewey’s 3,419 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dewey Tyler Memorial Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Dewey’s library?
It logged 5.5 visits and lent 3.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Dewey’s civic life grade?
A− Dewey is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life, #20 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 Dewey.
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.