Photo: Travellers & Tinkers · CC BY-SA 4.0Circle’s library runs 89 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
George Mccone Memorial County Library serves 1,729 people in and around Circle. Last year it lent 9,494 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,091 visits.
Circle’s library, in brief
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
27% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 70%. What your card is worth ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
George Mccone Memorial County Library records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, below 89% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 4.7 print items per resident. 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; George Mccone Memorial County Library serves 1,729 people in and around Circle, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Circle’s civic life grade
Circle 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 under 2,500 people across the U.S.
George Mccone Memorial County Library serves 1,729 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole George Mccone Memorial County Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
9,494 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,400 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
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
George Mccone Memorial County Library, 1101 C Avenue, Circle.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every George Mccone Memorial County Library branch.
New in Circle? 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 $1.09 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Circle cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $137K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $150K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $137K 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 833 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. George Mccone Memorial County Library serves 1,729 people in and around Circle, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Circle.
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 Circle
Does Circle have a public library?
Yes. George Mccone Memorial County Library, 1101 C Avenue, serves 1,729 people in and around Circle (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is George Mccone Memorial County Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Circle’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 5.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Circle’s civic life grade?
Circle 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 Circle.
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.