Photo: katsrcool · CC BY 2.0El Reno’s library lends 1.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
El Reno Carnegie Library serves El Reno’s 19,216 residents. Last year it lent 43K books, movies and e-books and logged 25K visits.
El Reno’s library, in brief
El Reno Carnegie Library is used less than most libraries its size
El Reno Carnegie Library records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $19 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. Today’s library there has 7,160 square feet. The building ↓
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 El Reno’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, El Reno is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns, #115 of 128 in Oklahoma. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
El Reno Carnegie Library spends $19 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($42K–$70K) 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 →
60 community nonprofits are registered in El Reno
3.2 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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.1%
7.1% of El Reno’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 El Reno’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
El Reno Carnegie Library serves 19,216 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
43K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 times last year, on average.
16,137 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 El Reno last year.
A National Register landmark since 1980
El Reno Carnegie Library, 215 E Wade, El Reno.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in El Reno? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Carnegie Library
Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Aug 29, 1980. It is significant for its social history at the local level.
The Carnegie Library in El Reno, Oklahoma is the oldest Carnegie library in Oklahoma that is still functioning as a library. Constructed in 1903, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and has been in continuous use as a library since its opening.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.79 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average El Reno cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $375K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $670K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $375K 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 12,684 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 El Reno
Does El Reno have a public library?
Yes. El Reno Carnegie Library, 215 E Wade, serves El Reno’s 19,216 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is El Reno Carnegie Library 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 El Reno’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 2.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is El Reno’s civic life grade?
C− El Reno is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns on civic life, #115 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 El Reno.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.