Montezuma’s library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Montezuma Township Library serves 1,546 people in and around Montezuma. Last year it lent 22K books, movies and e-books and logged 6,674 visits.
Montezuma’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 67% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
More library cards than residents
1,689 cards for 1,546 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
84% of the 167 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
Montezuma Township Library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 93% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 7% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 50% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; Montezuma Township Library serves 1,546 people in and around Montezuma, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Montezuma’s civic life grade
Montezuma 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 3 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Montezuma Township Library serves 1,546 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Montezuma Township Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
22K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,487 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Montezuma Township Library, 309 N. Aztec, Montezuma.
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 Montezuma Township Library branch.
New in Montezuma? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.73 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Montezuma cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $129K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $351K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $129K 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 1,689 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Montezuma Township Library serves 1,546 people in and around Montezuma, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Montezuma.
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 Montezuma
Does Montezuma have a public library?
Yes. Montezuma Township Library, 309 N. Aztec, serves 1,546 people in and around Montezuma (the survey’s count) and is open about 23 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Montezuma Township 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 Montezuma’s library?
It logged 4.3 visits and lent 14.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Montezuma’s civic life grade?
Montezuma 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 Montezuma.
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.