Photo: Bedford at English Wikipedia · Public domainMunfordville’s library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Hart County Public Library serves 19,724 people in and around Munfordville. Last year it lent 262K books, movies and e-books and logged 41K visits.
What Munfordville’s library is like
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 68%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
86% of the 1,263 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 4.4 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Hart County Public Library ran 1,263 programs last year, about 24 a week. That’s 64 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 31,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
79% of the people it serves carry a library card
15,549 cards for 19,724 people, or 79%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 5% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 68% 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; Hart County Public Library serves 19,724 people in and around Munfordville, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Munfordville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Munfordville is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns. Munfordville is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Munfordville’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($24K–$41K) 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.
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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Munfordville
2.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.7%
5.7% of Munfordville’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 Munfordville’s residents live; 2022.
About 21 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 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Hart County Public Library serves 19,724 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 47 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hart County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
262K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
12,958 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Hart County Public Library, 500 East Union Street, Munfordville.
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 Hart County Public Library branch.
New in Munfordville? 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 $7.47 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Munfordville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $582K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $582K 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 15,549 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Hart County Public Library serves 19,724 people in and around Munfordville, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Munfordville.
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 Munfordville
Does Munfordville have a public library?
Yes. Hart County Public Library, 500 East Union Street, serves 19,724 people in and around Munfordville (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hart 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 Munfordville’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 13.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Munfordville’s civic life grade?
C− Munfordville is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Munfordville.
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.