Morris’ library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Morris Library serves 2,495 people in and around Morris. Last year it lent 4,534 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,464 visits.
Morris’s library, in brief
Morris Library is used less than most libraries its size
Morris Library records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $25 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 20% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Morris Library offered 26 programs last year, 10 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
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; Morris Library serves 2,495 people in and around Morris, 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 Morris’ civic life grade
Morris 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Morris Library serves 2,495 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Morris Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
4,534 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,038 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
26 programs a year
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
Morris Library, 152 Main Street, Morris.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Morris Library branch.
New in Morris? 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 $1.15 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Morris cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $62K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $71K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $62K 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 502 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Morris Library serves 2,495 people in and around Morris, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Morris.
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 Morris
Does Morris have a public library?
Yes. Morris Library, 152 Main Street, serves 2,495 people in and around Morris (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Morris 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 Morris’ library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 1.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Morris’ civic life grade?
Morris 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 Morris.
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.