Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Martinsburg

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Martinsburg, MissouriPhoto: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0
Martinsburg Branch · part of Mexico-Audrain County Library District

Martinsburg’s library is a branch of Mexico-Audrain County Library District, which lends less per resident than 65% of systems its size

Martinsburg’s library is the Martinsburg Branch, a branch of Mexico-Audrain County Library District, which serves 24,962 people and lent 89K items last year.

201 E Washington St., Martinsburg 65264 · about 18 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
89K
3.6 per resident
Visits a year
45K
1.8 per resident · Below typical (3.1)
Programs & events
288
about 6 a week · 5,640 attended
Cardholders
48%
11,997 cards
Open
18 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Martinsburg’s library is like

Programs are almost all for children

88% of the 288 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.7 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓

Open only about 18 hours a week

The Martinsburg 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; Martinsburg’s library is a branch of Mexico-Audrain County Library District, so they cover the whole system (24,962 people), not just the Martinsburg branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Martinsburg’s civic life grade

Martinsburg isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Martinsburg’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.8 visits · typical 3.1Lower than 74%
Borrowing per resident 2.8 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 65%
Digital borrowing 0.8 e-items · typical 1.1Lower than 63%
Kids’ borrowing 1.4 kids’ items · typical 1.8Lower than 58%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.4Lower than 76%
Programs offered 11.5 per 1,000 residents · typical 24Lower than 80%
Cardholders 48% of residents · typical 40%Higher than 64%
Spending $39 per resident · typical $43Lower than 56%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Mexico-Audrain County Library District serves 24,962 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mexico-Audrain County Library District system. The library’s own count.

45K
visits
1.8 per resident
89K
loans, print + digital
3.6 per resident
288
programs & events
5,640 attended
12K
library cards
48% of people served
Every open hour12items borrowed
Every week108people at a program
Every day18Wi-Fi sessions
15 staff (full-time equivalent)32 public computers
What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

89K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

89Kloans
Books & media (adults) 39%Kids’ books & media 40%E-books, audio & streaming 21%
From your couch

18,858 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 5 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Martinsburg →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5140
Ages 6–11113
Teens16
Adults19
All ages0
Little ones
2.7

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

35K
kids’ books & media borrowed
5,640
people at programs
288
programs
The building

Find it

Martinsburg Branch, 201 E Washington St., Martinsburg.

18
hours open a week
3,500
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 Mexico-Audrain County Library District branch.

New in Martinsburg? 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 $1.41 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Martinsburg 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
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$39 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $972K.

Local taxes 91%State 3%Gifts & other 6%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $972K 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 11,997 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. Martinsburg Branch is one branch of Mexico-Audrain County Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 24,962 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 Martinsburg

Does Martinsburg have a public library?

Yes: Martinsburg Branch, 201 E Washington St., is a branch of Mexico-Audrain County Library District, which serves 24,962 people. The branch is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Mexico-Audrain County Library District 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 Martinsburg’s library?

It logged 1.8 visits and lent 3.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.

What is Martinsburg’s civic life grade?

Martinsburg 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 Martinsburg.

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.