Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMorning Sun’s library runs 219 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Mellinger Memorial Public Library serves Morning Sun’s 1,079 residents. Last year it lent 2,730 print books and media and logged 4,018 visits.
The short version on Morning Sun’s library
A small-town library
Mellinger Memorial Public Library serves 1,079 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 34 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 ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Mellinger Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2024. Today’s library there has 1,290 square feet. The building ↓
Programs draw a crowd
3,419 people came to the library’s 236 programs last year: 3.2 per resident, against a typical 0.7, more than at 93% of similar-size libraries. 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 Morning Sun’s civic life grade
Morning Sun 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 →
About 2 kids’ programs 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 Morning Sun last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Mellinger Memorial Public Library serves 1,079 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
2,730 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
A National Register landmark since 2024
Mellinger Memorial Public Library, 11 Division St., Morning Sun.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Mellinger Memorial Library
Mellinger Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Sep 16, 2024. It is significant for its architecture at the local level.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.11 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Morning Sun cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $38K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $81K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $38K 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 422 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 Morning Sun
Does Morning Sun have a public library?
Yes. Mellinger Memorial Public Library, 11 Division St., serves Morning Sun’s 1,079 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mellinger Memorial Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Morning Sun’s library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 2.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Morning Sun’s civic life grade?
Morning Sun 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 Morning Sun.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.