Wister’s library is a branch of Southeast Oklahoma Library System, which lends less per resident than 70% of systems its size
Wister’s library is the Wister Public Library, a branch of Southeast Oklahoma Library System, which serves 164,633 people and lent 453K items last year.
The short version on Wister’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; Wister’s library is a branch of Southeast Oklahoma Library System, so they cover the whole system (164,633 people), not just the Wister branch.
What’s behind Wister’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Wister is ahead of 5% of U.S. towns. Wister is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($27K–$46K) 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 →
Wister has few registered community nonprofits
0.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: environment & animals.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.7%
5.7% of Wister’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 Wister’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
Wister Public Library, 211 Plum Street, Wister.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Southeast Oklahoma Library System branch.
New in Wister? 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 Wister 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wister | Wister Public Library | — | 35 | D− |
| Poteau | Poteau - Patrick Lynch Public Library | — | 49 | B+ |
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. Wister 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 Wister
Does Wister have a public library?
Yes: Wister Public Library, 211 Plum Street, is a branch of Southeast Oklahoma Library System, which serves 164,633 people. The branch is open about 35 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 Wister’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 Wister’s civic life grade?
D− Wister is ahead of 5% 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 Wister.
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.