Photo: Jeremy Wagg · Public domainMcAlester’s library is a branch of Southeast Oklahoma Library System, which lends less per resident than 70% of systems its size
McAlester’s library is the Mcalester Public Library, a branch of Southeast Oklahoma Library System, which serves 164,633 people and lent 453K items last year.
The short version on McAlester’s library
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
The Southeast Oklahoma Library System ran 4,898 programs last year, about 94 a week. That’s 30 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 14% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; McAlester’s library is a branch of Southeast Oklahoma Library System, so they cover the whole system (164,633 people), not just the McAlester branch.
What’s behind McAlester’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, McAlester is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #6 of 128 in Oklahoma. McAlester is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
113 community nonprofits are registered in McAlester
6.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (33 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.
11.5%
11.5% of McAlester’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 McAlester’s residents live; 2022.
About 42 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Southeast Oklahoma Library System serves 164,633 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Southeast Oklahoma Library System system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
453K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
99,071 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Mcalester Public Library, 401 North Second, Mcalester.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Southeast Oklahoma Library System branch.
New in McAlester? 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 $1.01 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average McAlester cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $7.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $7.3M 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 22,731 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McAlester | Mcalester Public Library | — | 58 | A |
| Krebs | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
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.
- System-wide. Mcalester Public Library is one branch of Southeast Oklahoma Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 164,633 people it serves.
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 McAlester
Does McAlester have a public library?
Yes: Mcalester Public Library, 401 North Second, is a branch of Southeast Oklahoma Library System, which serves 164,633 people. The branch is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Southeast Oklahoma Library System 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 McAlester’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 2.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is McAlester’s civic life grade?
A McAlester is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on civic life, #6 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 McAlester.
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.