Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Myrtle’s library is a branch of Union County Library System, which lends less per resident than 70% of systems its size
Myrtle’s library is the Nance-Mcneely Memorial Library, a branch of Union County Library System, which serves 28,284 people and lent 90K items last year.
Myrtle’s library, in brief
Runs on less money than most
The Union County Library System spends $11 per resident, less than 94% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). What your card is worth ↓
75% of the people it serves carry a library card
21,164 cards for 28,284 people, or 75%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
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; Myrtle’s library is a branch of Union County Library System, so they cover the whole system (28,284 people), not just the Myrtle branch.
What’s behind Myrtle’s civic life grade
Myrtle 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 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Union County Library System serves 28,284 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Union County Library System system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
90K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
28,117 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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
Nance-Mcneely Memorial Library, 1080 Megginson Lane, Myrtle.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Union County Library System branch.
New in Myrtle? 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 $4.83 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Myrtle cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $314K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $314K 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 21,164 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Nance-Mcneely Memorial Library is one branch of Union County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 28,284 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 Myrtle
Does Myrtle have a public library?
Yes: Nance-Mcneely Memorial Library, 1080 Megginson Lane, is a branch of Union County Library System, which serves 28,284 people. The branch is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Union County Library System 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 Myrtle’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 3.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Myrtle’s civic life grade?
Myrtle 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 Myrtle.
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.