Photo: Feddacheenee · CC BY-SA 4.0Balaton’s library is a branch of Marshall-Lyon County Library, which lends more per resident than 75% of systems its size
Balaton’s library is the Balaton Community Library, a branch of Marshall-Lyon County Library, which serves 22,006 people and lent 154K items last year.
Balaton’s library, in brief
Open only about 19 hours a week
The Balaton branch keeps short hours: about 19 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 7% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 74% 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; Balaton’s library is a branch of Marshall-Lyon County Library, so they cover the whole system (22,006 people), not just the Balaton branch.
What’s behind Balaton’s civic life grade
Balaton 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 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Marshall-Lyon County Library serves 22,006 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 33 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Marshall-Lyon County Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
154K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
11,518 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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
Balaton Community Library, 134 3rd Street, Balaton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Marshall-Lyon County Library branch.
New in Balaton? 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 $1.94 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Balaton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 10,272 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Balaton Community Library is one branch of Marshall-Lyon County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 22,006 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 Balaton
Does Balaton have a public library?
Yes: Balaton Community Library, 134 3rd Street, is a branch of Marshall-Lyon County Library, which serves 22,006 people. The branch is open about 19 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Marshall-Lyon County Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Balaton’s library?
It logged 4.5 visits and lent 7.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Balaton’s civic life grade?
Balaton 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 Balaton.
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.