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Miller Branch Library · part of Barry-Lawrence Regional Library

Miller’s library is a branch of Barry-Lawrence Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 54% of systems its size

Miller’s library is the Miller Branch Library, a branch of Barry-Lawrence Regional Library, which serves 72,535 people and lent 313K items last year.

112 E Main St., Miller 65707 · about 24 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
313K
4.3 per resident
Visits a year
191K
2.6 per resident · Above typical (2.6)
Programs & events
2,887
about 56 a week · 79K attended
Cardholders
31%
22,381 cards
Open
24 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about Miller Branch Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Miller’s civic life grade

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

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Miller’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 →

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 26 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Miller →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5447
Ages 6–11919
Teens230
Adults1,149
All ages142
Little ones
8.6

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

83K
kids’ books & media borrowed
79K
people at programs
2,887
programs
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.6 visits · typical 2.6Higher than 51%
Borrowing per resident 3.4 print items · typical 3.7Lower than 54%
Digital borrowing 0.9 e-items · typical 1.2Lower than 59%
Kids’ borrowing 1.1 kids’ items · typical 1.7Lower than 64%
Program attendance 1.1 attendees · typical 0.3Top 10%
Programs offered 39.8 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Top 10%
Cardholders 31% of residents · typical 39%Lower than 69%
Spending $35 per resident · typical $40Lower than 57%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Barry-Lawrence Regional Library serves 72,535 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Barry-Lawrence Regional Library system. The library’s own count.

191K
visits
2.6 per resident
313K
loans, print + digital
4.3 per resident
2,887
programs & events
79K attended
22K
library cards
31% of people served
Every open hour17items borrowed
Every week1,510people at a program
Every day19Wi-Fi sessions
36 staff (full-time equivalent)52 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

313K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

313Kloans
Books & media (adults) 52%Kids’ books & media 26%E-books, audio & streaming 22%
From your couch

67,631 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

The building

Find it

Miller Branch Library, 112 E Main St., Miller.

24
hours open a week
1,280
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Barry-Lawrence Regional Library branch.

New in Miller? 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 $2.19 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Miller 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
$35 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.5M.

Local taxes 92%State 4%Federal 1%Gifts & other 2%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.5M 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 22,381 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. Miller Branch Library is one branch of Barry-Lawrence Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 72,535 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 Miller

Does Miller have a public library?

Yes: Miller Branch Library, 112 E Main St., is a branch of Barry-Lawrence Regional Library, which serves 72,535 people. The branch is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Barry-Lawrence Regional 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 Miller’s library?

It logged 2.6 visits and lent 4.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is Miller’s civic life grade?

Miller 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 Miller.

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.