Brenizer Library · Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainMerna’s library runs 43 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Brenizer Public Library serves Merna’s 348 residents. Last year it lent 1,605 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,410 visits.
Merna’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
435 cards for 348 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 ↓
Open only about 14 hours a week
Brenizer Public Library keeps short hours: about 14 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Brenizer Public Library serves 348 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Brenizer Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2007. Today’s library there has 2,500 square feet. The building ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 64% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 76% 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Merna’s civic life grade
Merna 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 →
15 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Merna last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Brenizer Public Library serves 348 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1,605 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 20K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
A National Register landmark since 2007
Brenizer Public Library, 430 West Center Avenue, Merna.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Merna? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Brenizer Library
Brenizer Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jul 3, 2007. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Prairie and Classical Revival.
The Brenizer Library is a historic building in Merna, Nebraska. It was built in 1916-1917 by C.H. Empfield & Bert Elder thanks to a $6,500 donation from homesteader James G. Brenizer, and designed in the Prairie School and Classical Revival styles by architect Claude W. Way. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since July 3, 2007.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.13 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Merna cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $26K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $29K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $26K 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 435 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 Merna
Does Merna have a public library?
Yes. Brenizer Public Library, 430 West Center Avenue, serves Merna’s 348 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 14 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Brenizer Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Merna’s library?
It logged 4.1 visits and lent 4.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Merna’s civic life grade?
Merna 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 Merna.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.