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Meade County, Kentucky courthousePhoto: W.marsh · CC BY-SA 3.0
Meade County Public Library

Brandenburg’s library runs 80 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size

Meade County Public Library serves 30,131 people in and around Brandenburg. Last year it lent 162K books, movies and e-books and logged 70K visits.

996 Old Ekron Road, Brandenburg 40108 · about 54 hours a week
C−Civic lifeAhead of 21% of U.S. towns · #89 of 126 in Kentucky. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (270) 422-2094 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
162K
5.4 per resident
Visits a year
70K
2.3 per resident · Below typical (2.6)
Programs & events
2,401
about 46 a week · 36K attended
Cardholders
84%
25,238 cards
Open
54 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on Brandenburg’s library

Six times the programs of a typical library its size

Meade County Public Library ran 2,401 programs last year, about 46 a week. That’s 80 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 36,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓

84% of the people it serves carry a library card

25,238 cards for 30,131 people, or 84%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓

Kids’ books are most of what goes out

Children’s books and media make up 60% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 58% 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; Meade County Public Library serves 30,131 people in and around Brandenburg, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Brandenburg’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Brandenburg is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns, #89 of 126 in Kentucky. Brandenburg is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Brandenburg’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.

C−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Brandenburg’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureC+Community nonprofits3.1 per 1,000 residents · KY towns 3.1 · U.S. 3.7CVolunteering6.0% of adults 25–44 · KY towns 6.6% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 21%
FewerMore
Kentucky towns we grade (126)Ahead of 30%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $37K–$62K (4,910)Ahead of 23%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($37K–$62K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Brandenburg is small (3,003 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

9 community nonprofits are registered in Brandenburg

3.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.07 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.37 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans20.78 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services20.61 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education20.78 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.07 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.07 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.24 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

6.0%

6.0% of Brandenburg’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.6% in the typical Kentucky town and 7.5% nationally.

Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Brandenburg’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 16 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Brandenburg →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5352
Ages 6–11456
Teens187
Adults817
All ages589
Little ones
6.8

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

62K
kids’ books & media borrowed
36K
people at programs
2,401
programs
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.3 visits · typical 2.6Lower than 56%
Borrowing per resident 3.5 print items · typical 3.7Lower than 53%
Digital borrowing 1.9 e-items · typical 1.2Higher than 70%
Kids’ borrowing 2.1 kids’ items · typical 1.7Higher than 58%
Program attendance 1.2 attendees · typical 0.3Top 10%
Programs offered 79.7 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Top 10%
Cardholders 84% of residents · typical 39%Top 10%
Spending $50 per resident · typical $40Higher than 63%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Meade County Public Library serves 30,131 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 45 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Meade County Public Library system. The library’s own count.

70K
visits
2.3 per resident
162K
loans, print + digital
5.4 per resident
2,401
programs & events
36K attended
25K
library cards
84% of people served
Every open hour45items borrowed
Every week696people at a program
Every day504Wi-Fi sessions
18 staff (full-time equivalent)28 public computers
What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

162K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

162Kloans
Books & media (adults) 26%Kids’ books & media 38%E-books, audio & streaming 35%
From your couch

57,323 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

The building

Find it

Meade County Public Library, 996 Old Ekron Road, Brandenburg.

Directions(270) 422-2094
54
hours open a week
29,759
square feet
With a card

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 Meade County Public Library branch.

New in Brandenburg? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.14 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Brandenburg cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
1
Your card saves you about
$240
a year at retail prices · $20 a month

Who pays for it
$50 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.5M.

Local taxes 93%Federal 0%Gifts & other 7%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.5M 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 25,238 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Meade County Public Library serves 30,131 people in and around Brandenburg, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Brandenburg.

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 Brandenburg

Does Brandenburg have a public library?

Yes. Meade County Public Library, 996 Old Ekron Road, serves 30,131 people in and around Brandenburg (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Meade 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 Brandenburg’s library?

It logged 2.3 visits and lent 5.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is Brandenburg’s civic life grade?

C− Brandenburg is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns on civic life, #89 of 126 in Kentucky. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Brandenburg.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.