Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainMeadow Grove’s library lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Meadow Grove Public Library serves Meadow Grove’s 273 residents. Last year it lent 4,488 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,952 visits.
What Meadow Grove’s library is like
More library cards than residents
650 cards for 273 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Meadow Grove uses its library more than almost any town its size
Meadow Grove Public Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 15 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Meadow Grove Public Library serves 273 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 23 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 37% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A place to get online
Meadow Grove Public Library logs about 3 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 3 public computers. That’s 4 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Meadow Grove’s civic life grade
Meadow Grove 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 →
Mostly books and media off the shelf
4,488 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 8,816 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
491 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 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Meadow Grove Public Library serves 273 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
6 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Meadow Grove Public Library, 205 Main Street, Meadow Grove.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Meadow Grove? 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 $1.94 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Meadow Grove cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $37K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $73K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $37K 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 650 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Meadow Grove
Does Meadow Grove have a public library?
Yes. Meadow Grove Public Library, 205 Main Street, serves Meadow Grove’s 273 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 23 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Meadow Grove Public 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 Meadow Grove’s library?
It logged 10.8 visits and lent 16.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Meadow Grove’s civic life grade?
Meadow Grove 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 Meadow Grove.
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.