Okfuskee County Courthouse (Additional Documentation) · Photo: Pigdogx · CC BY-SA 4.0Okemah’s library lends 9.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Okemah Public Library serves Okemah’s 3,051 residents. Last year it lent 32K books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
Okemah’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
6,958 cards for 3,051 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 ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Okemah Public Library offered 13 programs last year, 4.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in Oklahoma for borrowing
Okemah ranks #5 of 60 Oklahoma towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 9.6 items per resident, more than at 90% of similar-size libraries nationwide. 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.
What’s behind Okemah’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Okemah is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #13 of 128 in Oklahoma. All three 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Okemah
8.5 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
14.0%
14.0% of Okemah’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 Okemah’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Okemah Public Library serves 3,051 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
32K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 31K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
3,001 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
13 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 Okemah last year.
Find it
Okemah Public Library, 301 South 2nd, Okemah.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Okemah? 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 $3.69 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Okemah cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $147K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $544K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $147K 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 6,958 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. Okemah 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 Okemah
Does Okemah have a public library?
Yes. Okemah Public Library, 301 South 2nd, serves Okemah’s 3,051 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Okemah 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 Okemah’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 10.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Okemah’s civic life grade?
A Okemah is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on civic life, #13 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 Okemah.
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.