Photo: Crimsonedge34 · CC BY-SA 3.0Waurika’s library logs 4.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Waurika Public Library serves Waurika’s 1,838 residents. Last year it lent 2,723 books, movies and e-books and logged 7,904 visits.
The short version on Waurika’s library
More library cards than residents
2,651 cards for 1,838 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Waurika Public Library serves 1,838 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 41 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Most programs are for young children
79% of the 94 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Waurika Public Library lends 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, fewer than 93% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
46% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 46% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Waurika’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Waurika is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Waurika’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Waurika
3.5 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.7%
10.7% of Waurika’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 Waurika’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Waurika Public Library serves 1,838 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
46% of borrowing is digital
2,723 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
1,255 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Waurika last year.
Find it
Waurika Public Library, 203 S Meridian, Waurika.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Waurika? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Waurika cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $64K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $58K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $64K 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 2,651 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. Waurika 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 Waurika
Does Waurika have a public library?
Yes. Waurika Public Library, 203 S Meridian, serves Waurika’s 1,838 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Waurika Public 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 Waurika’s library?
It logged 4.3 visits and lent 1.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Waurika’s civic life grade?
B+ Waurika is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Waurika.
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.