Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Loretto’s library is a branch of Marion County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 86% of systems its size
Loretto’s library is the Marion County Public Library - Loretto Branch, a branch of Marion County Public Library, which serves 19,834 people and lent 41K items last year.
What Loretto’s library is like
The Marion County Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Marion County Public Library system records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Open only about 18 hours a week
The Loretto branch keeps short hours: about 18 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; Loretto’s library is a branch of Marion County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (19,834 people), not just the Loretto branch.
What’s behind Loretto’s civic life grade
Loretto 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 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Marion County Public Library serves 19,834 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Marion County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
41K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
14,702 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
Find it
Marion County Public Library - Loretto Branch, 255 School Drive, Loretto.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Marion County Public Library branch.
New in Loretto? 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 $1.25 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Loretto cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $678K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $848K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $678K 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 10,191 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Marion County Public Library - Loretto Branch is one branch of Marion County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 19,834 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 Loretto
Does Loretto have a public library?
Yes: Marion County Public Library - Loretto Branch, 255 School Drive, is a branch of Marion County Public Library, which serves 19,834 people. The branch is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Marion 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 Loretto’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Loretto’s civic life grade?
Loretto 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 Loretto.
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.