Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0Menlo’s library logs 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Menlo Public Library serves Menlo’s 392 residents. Last year it lent 823 print books and media and logged 316 visits.
The short version on Menlo’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Menlo Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Menlo Public Library serves 392 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 ↓
Open only about 19 hours a week
Menlo Public Library keeps short hours: about 19 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
Menlo Public Library records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, below 94% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 2.1 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
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 Menlo’s civic life grade
Menlo 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.
Menlo Public Library serves 392 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Menlo Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
823 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 5,252 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
5 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.
Find it
Menlo Public Library, 504 5th St., Menlo.
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 Menlo cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $21K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $17K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $21K 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 180 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Menlo Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 Menlo
Does Menlo have a public library?
Yes. Menlo Public Library, 504 5th St., serves Menlo’s 392 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 19 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Menlo Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Menlo’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 2.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Menlo’s civic life grade?
Menlo 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 Menlo.
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.