Library · Mena

Polk County Library

Mena’s library is the Polk County Library, a branch of Ouachita Mountains Regional Library, open about 42 hours a week.

IMLS Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024
Multi-county system. Mena’s branch belongs to Ouachita Mountains Regional Library, which serves 27,893 people. The yearly numbers below are for the whole system, not just this branch. A card works at every branch.
Your branch

Polk County Library

410 8th Street, Mena 71953
42 hrsopen a week
5,914sq ft
E-books & audiobooksBorrow from home with your card
Fiscal year 2024

A year at Ouachita Mountains Regional Library

20K
visits
0.7 per resident
49K
loans, print + digital
1.8 per resident
4,950
library cards
18% of people served
How it compares

Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people

Per-resident numbers, compared only with libraries of a similar size across the country, because a tiny town’s library always looks busier per person.

Visits per resident
0.7 visits · typical 2.6
Lower than most similar-size libraries (5th percentile)
Borrowing per resident
1.0 print items · typical 3.7
Lower than most similar-size libraries (11th percentile)
Digital borrowing
0.7 e-items · typical 1.2
A little below typical (33th percentile)
Kids’ borrowing
0.4 kids’ items · typical 1.7
Lower than most similar-size libraries (12th percentile)
Cardholders
18% of residents
Lower than most similar-size libraries (11th percentile)
Borrowing & programs

What people use it for

What people borrow

49K loans last year

Books & media (adults)35%Kids’ books & media23%E-books, audio & streaming42%
Money

Who pays for it

$8 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $213K.

Local 67%State 29%Gifts & other 4%
About these numbers

How to read this page

Hours are an averageThe survey reports a building’s public hours for the whole year. We divide by the weeks it was open, so check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Compared by size“Similar-size” means libraries serving about as many people, nationwide. Per-resident numbers always flatter the smallest towns, so they’re never compared with big cities.
One year, the library’s own countLibraries report their own visits, loans and programs for fiscal year 2024. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.

Source: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Distances are straight-line from the town center.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01