Photo: Lwadle · CC BY-SA 4.0Melcher-Dallas’ library logs 5.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Melcher-Dallas Public Library serves Melcher-Dallas’s 1,441 residents. Last year it lent 2,919 print books and media and logged 8,295 visits.
The short version on Melcher-Dallas’s library
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 73% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 25%. The building also logs about 6 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
A small-town library
Melcher-Dallas Public Library serves 1,441 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 ↓
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 Melcher-Dallas’ civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, Melcher-Dallas is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns. Melcher-Dallas is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Melcher-Dallas’ count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Melcher-Dallas
10.3 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Melcher-Dallas Public Library serves 1,441 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
2,919 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 7,403 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
23 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 Melcher-Dallas last year.
Find it
Melcher-Dallas Public Library, 111 S Main St., Melcher-Dallas.
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 $1.59 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Melcher-Dallas cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $36K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $58K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $36K 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 809 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 Melcher-Dallas
Does Melcher-Dallas have a public library?
Yes. Melcher-Dallas Public Library, 111 S Main St., serves Melcher-Dallas’ 1,441 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Melcher-Dallas Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Melcher-Dallas’ library?
It logged 5.8 visits and lent 2.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Melcher-Dallas’ civic life grade?
A+ Melcher-Dallas is ahead of 96% 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 Melcher-Dallas.
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.