Photo: Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0Mentone’s library runs 53 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Bell Memorial Public Library serves 3,993 people in and around Mentone. Last year it lent 27K books, movies and e-books and drew 2,615 people to its programs.
The short version on Mentone’s library
More library cards than residents
4,227 cards for 3,993 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
Bell Memorial Public Library spends $119 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (88%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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; Bell Memorial Public Library serves 3,993 people in and around Mentone, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Mentone’s civic life grade
Mentone 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 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Bell Memorial Public Library serves 3,993 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Bell Memorial Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Visits aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 800 visits against 27K loans, so we leave the count out.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
27K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
7,238 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
Bell Memorial Public Library, 101 West Main Street, Mentone.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Bell Memorial Public Library branch.
New in Mentone? The Handbook →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 Mentone cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $474K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $455K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $474K 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 4,227 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Bell Memorial Public Library serves 3,993 people in and around Mentone, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Mentone.
- Visits left out. This year’s visit count is far below what the library lends, so we leave it out.
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 Mentone
Does Mentone have a public library?
Yes. Bell Memorial Public Library, 101 West Main Street, serves 3,993 people in and around Mentone (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bell Memorial Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Mentone’s library?
It lent 6.8 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 212 programs that drew 2,615 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Mentone’s civic life grade?
Mentone 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 Mentone.
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.