Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMerom’s library is a branch of Sullivan County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 87% of systems its size
Merom’s library is the Merom Public Library, a branch of Sullivan County Public Library, which serves 20,817 people and lent 39K items last year.
What Merom’s library is like
Well funded, but lightly used
The Sullivan County Public Library system spends $79 per resident, more than 82% of similar-size libraries. Use doesn’t match: visits per resident are lower than at 78% of them. What your card is worth ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Merom-Gill Township Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2019. Today’s library there has 2,631 square feet. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 19% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. 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; Merom’s library is a branch of Sullivan County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (20,817 people), not just the Merom branch.
What’s behind Merom’s civic life grade
Merom 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 →
A National Register landmark since 2019
Merom Public Library, 8554 West Market Street, Merom.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sullivan County Public Library branch.
New in Merom? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Merom-Gill Township Carnegie Library
Merom-Gill Township Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Mar 11, 2019. It is significant for its architecture and education at the local level.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Sullivan County Public Library serves 20,817 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sullivan County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
39K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
13,061 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Merom cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $793K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M 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 4,001 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Merom Public Library is one branch of Sullivan County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 20,817 people it serves.
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 Merom
Does Merom have a public library?
Yes: Merom Public Library, 8554 West Market Street, is a branch of Sullivan County Public Library, which serves 20,817 people. The branch is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sullivan County 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 Merom’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Merom’s civic life grade?
Merom 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 Merom.
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.