Palmyra’s library logs 8.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Palmyra Memorial Library serves Palmyra’s 567 residents. Last year it lent 7,418 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,966 visits.
Palmyra’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
748 cards for 567 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 ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 81% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 19 items per child in Palmyra last year. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 18 hours a week
Palmyra Memorial Library keeps short hours: about 18 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Palmyra Memorial Library serves 567 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 ↓
46% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 46% of loans, more per resident than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 54%, much of it kids’ books. 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 Palmyra’s civic life grade
Palmyra 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 →
46% of borrowing is digital
7,418 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 7,302 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
3,406 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 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Palmyra Memorial Library serves 567 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
88 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Palmyra last year.
Find it
Palmyra Memorial Library, 525 Illinois Place, Palmyra.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Palmyra? 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 $3.82 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Palmyra cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $27K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $103K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $27K 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 748 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 Palmyra
Does Palmyra have a public library?
Yes. Palmyra Memorial Library, 525 Illinois Place, serves Palmyra’s 567 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Palmyra Memorial 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 Palmyra’s library?
It logged 8.8 visits and lent 13.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Palmyra’s civic life grade?
Palmyra 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 Palmyra.
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.