Photo: Chillin662 · CC BY-SA 4.0Merigold’s library is a branch of Bolivar County Library, which lends less per resident than 92% of systems its size
Merigold’s library is the Thelma Rayner Memorial Library, a branch of Bolivar County Library, which serves 28,968 people and lent 24K items last year.
The short version on Merigold’s library
Open only about 8 hours a week
The Merigold branch keeps short hours: about 8 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Bolivar County Library system offered 83 programs last year, 2.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 83 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 34 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 2% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 98% 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; Merigold’s library is a branch of Bolivar County Library, so they cover the whole system (28,968 people), not just the Merigold branch.
What’s behind Merigold’s civic life grade
Merigold 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 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Bolivar County Library serves 28,968 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Bolivar County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
24K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
486 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Thelma Rayner Memorial Library, 201 Front Street, Merigold.
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 Bolivar County Library branch.
New in Merigold? 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 $1.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Merigold cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $650K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $675K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $650K 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 18,327 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Thelma Rayner Memorial Library is one branch of Bolivar County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 28,968 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 Merigold
Does Merigold have a public library?
Yes: Thelma Rayner Memorial Library, 201 Front Street, is a branch of Bolivar County Library, which serves 28,968 people. The branch is open about 8 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bolivar County 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 Merigold’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 0.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Merigold’s civic life grade?
Merigold 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 Merigold.
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.