Photo: Billwhittaker · CC BY-SA 3.0Martelle’s library runs 193 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Martelle Community Library and Historical Museum serves Martelle’s 300 residents. Last year it lent 720 print books and media and logged 1,482 visits.
The short version on Martelle’s library
Open only about 17 hours a week
Martelle Community Library and Historical Museum keeps short hours: about 17 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Martelle Community Library and Historical Museum serves 300 residents with about one full-time staff. 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
72% of the 58 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 22 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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 Martelle’s civic life grade
Martelle isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
58 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 Martelle last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Martelle Community Library and Historical Museum serves 300 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Martelle Community Library and Historical Museum
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
720 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 7,105 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Find it
Martelle Community Library and Historical Museum, 202 South St., Martelle.
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 Martelle cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $19K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $17K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $19K 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 206 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Martelle
Does Martelle have a public library?
Yes. Martelle Community Library and Historical Museum, 202 South St., serves Martelle’s 300 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 17 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Martelle Community Library and Historical Museum fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Martelle’s library?
It logged 4.9 visits and lent 2.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Martelle’s civic life grade?
Martelle isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Martelle.
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.