Ridgeway · Photo: Jack Boucher · Public domainSt. Matthews’ library is a branch of Louisville Free Public Library, which lends less per resident than 56% of systems its size
St. Matthews’s library is the St. Matthews, a branch of Louisville Free Public Library, which serves 772,144 people and lent 3.8M items last year.
What stands out about St. Matthews
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind St. Matthews’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, St. Matthews is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #17 of 126 in Kentucky. St. Matthews is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
71 community nonprofits are registered in St. Matthews
4.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (17 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.3%
9.3% of St. Matthews’ 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 St. Matthews’ residents live; 2022.
42% of borrowing is digital
3.8M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,605,856 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Louisville Free Public Library serves 772,144 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 72 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Louisville Free Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 103 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
St. Matthews, 3940 Grandview Avenue, Louisville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Louisville Free Public Library branch.
New in St. Matthews? 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 $2.61 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average St. Matthews cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $24M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $63M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $24M 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 206,028 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Matthews | St. Matthews fine-free | — | 62 | B+ |
| Lyndon | Northeast Regional fine-free | — | 68 | B+ |
| Beechwood Village | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Norwood | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Woodlawn Park | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Graymoor-Devondale | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Windy Hills | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Bellewood | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Maryhill Estates | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Brownsboro Village | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. St. Matthews is one branch of Louisville Free Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 772,144 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 St. Matthews
Does St. Matthews have a public library?
Yes: St. Matthews, 3940 Grandview Avenue, is a branch of Louisville Free Public Library, which serves 772,144 people. The branch is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Louisville Free 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 St. Matthews’ library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 5.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is St. Matthews’ civic life grade?
B+ St. Matthews is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on civic life, #17 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 St. Matthews.
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.