Photo: NPS Staff (Photo Credit: NPS) · Public domainMurray’s library lends 8.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Murray Public Library serves Murray’s 1,179 residents. Last year it lent 9,925 print books and media and logged 1,496 visits.
Murray’s library, in brief
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 82% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 88%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Murray Public Library serves 1,179 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 20 hours a week
Murray Public Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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 Murray’s civic life grade
Murray 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 →
Books and media off the shelf
9,925 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 9,881 books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Murray Public Library serves 1,179 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: spending. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
11 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 Murray last year.
Find it
Murray Public Library, 416 Maple St., Murray.
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 Murray cardholder borrows.
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 266 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: spending. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- 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 Murray
Does Murray have a public library?
Yes. Murray Public Library, 416 Maple St., serves Murray’s 1,179 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Murray Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Murray’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 8.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Murray’s civic life grade?
Murray 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 Murray.
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.