Photo: Ashton B Crew · CC BY 3.0Melbourne’s library lends 2.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Melbourne Public Library serves Melbourne’s 1,323 residents. Last year it lent 3,482 print books and media and logged 3,581 visits.
Melbourne’s library, in brief
A small-town library
Melbourne Public Library serves 1,323 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 25 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
73% of the 82 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 41 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 Melbourne’s civic life grade
Melbourne 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Melbourne Public Library serves 1,323 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
3,482 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 9,543 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
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 Melbourne last year.
Find it
Melbourne Public Library, 603 Main St., Melbourne.
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 $1.09 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Melbourne cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $57K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $62K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $57K 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 306 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 Melbourne
Does Melbourne have a public library?
Yes. Melbourne Public Library, 603 Main St., serves Melbourne’s 1,323 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Melbourne Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Melbourne’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 2.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Melbourne’s civic life grade?
Melbourne 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 Melbourne.
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.