Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domainMonroeville’s library logs 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Monroe County Public Library serves 19,404 people in and around Monroeville. Last year it lent 4,126 books, movies and e-books and logged 8,262 visits.
Monroeville’s library, in brief
Monroe County Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Monroe County Public Library records 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $8 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
29% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 53%. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
Monroe County Public Library spends $8 per resident, less than 98% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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; Monroe County Public Library serves 19,404 people in and around Monroeville, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Monroeville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Monroeville is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #32 of 156 in Alabama. Monroeville is graded on two of the three inputs. Monroeville’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Among U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($24K–$41K) it does better, ahead of 66%.
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 →
41 community nonprofits are registered in Monroeville
7.1 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.1%
3.1% of Monroeville’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.8% in the typical Alabama 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 Monroeville’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Monroe County Public Library serves 19,404 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Monroe County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
4,126 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4 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, 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.
Find it
Monroe County Public Library, 121 Pineville Road, Monroeville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Monroe County Public Library branch.
New in Monroeville? 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 Monroeville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $163K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $111K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $163K 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 10,267 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Monroe County Public Library serves 19,404 people in and around Monroeville, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Monroeville.
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 Monroeville
Does Monroeville have a public library?
Yes. Monroe County Public Library, 121 Pineville Road, serves 19,404 people in and around Monroeville (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Monroe County 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 Monroeville’s library?
It logged 0.4 visits and lent 0.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Monroeville’s civic life grade?
C+ Monroeville is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on civic life, #32 of 156 in Alabama. 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 Monroeville.
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.