Riverdale’s library lends 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Mclean-Mercer Regional Library serves 7,995 people in and around Riverdale. Last year it lent 31K books, movies and e-books and drew 1,162 people to its programs.
Riverdale’s library, in brief
Most of the library’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 76% of loans, more per resident than at 89% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 24%. What people borrow ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Mclean-Mercer Regional Library offered 6 programs last year, 0.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 17% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. 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; Mclean-Mercer Regional Library serves 7,995 people in and around Riverdale, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Riverdale’s civic life grade
Riverdale 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 →
76% of borrowing is digital
31K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
23,646 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Mclean-Mercer Regional Library serves 7,995 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mclean-Mercer Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
Visits aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 1,585 visits against 31K loans, so we leave the count out.
6 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Mclean-Mercer Regional Library, 216 Second St., Riverdale.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Mclean-Mercer Regional Library branch.
New in Riverdale? 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 $1.36 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Riverdale cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $572K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $776K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $572K 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 1,336 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Mclean-Mercer Regional Library serves 7,995 people in and around Riverdale, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Riverdale.
- Visits left out. This year’s visit count is far below what the library lends, so we leave it out.
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 Riverdale
Does Riverdale have a public library?
Yes. Mclean-Mercer Regional Library, 216 Second St., serves 7,995 people in and around Riverdale (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mclean-Mercer 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 Riverdale’s library?
It lent 3.9 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 6 programs that drew 1,162 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Riverdale’s civic life grade?
Riverdale 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 Riverdale.
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.