Photo: Crimsonedge34 · CC BY-SA 3.0Lawton’s library runs 7.2 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Lawton Public Library serves Lawton’s 90,245 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 234K books, movies and e-books and logged 127K visits.
Lawton’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Lawton Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976. Today’s library there has 37,706 square feet. The buildings ↓
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 Lawton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Lawton is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns, #124 of 128 in Oklahoma. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Lawton’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Lawton Public Library spends $16 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($41K–$68K) 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 →
231 community nonprofits are registered in Lawton
2.6 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 (102 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 9 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.9%
5.9% of Lawton’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 Lawton’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1976
Lawton Public Library, 110 S W 4th St., Lawton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Lawton? 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 19, 1976. It is significant for its social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Federal.
The Carnegie Library in Lawton, Oklahoma is a Carnegie library building from 1922. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. It is built of buff-tan brick, with white limestone used for the window trim and other ornamentation. It was originally a 52 by 52 feet (16 m × 16 m) square plan building, but a 1952 extension added 40 feet (12 m) to the north side.
More about the building →Other libraries in Lawton
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Lawton Public Library serves 90,245 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 60 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
234K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 126K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
71,031 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 Lawton last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.72 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lawton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 34,292 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 Lawton
Does Lawton have a public library?
Yes. Lawton Public Library, 110 S W 4th St., serves Lawton’s 90,245 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lawton 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 Lawton’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 2.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Lawton’s civic life grade?
D Lawton is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns on civic life, #124 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 Lawton.
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.