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Bloomville, Marion south of New HavenPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
Bliss Memorial Public Library

Bloomville’s library logs 5.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size

Bliss Memorial Public Library serves 1,607 people in and around Bloomville. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and logged 8,996 visits.

20 S. Marion St., Bloomville 44818 · about 34 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
11K
6.6 per resident
Visits a year
8,996
5.6 per resident · Above typical (3.5)
Programs & events
54
about 1 a week · 1,587 attended
Cardholders
27%
430 cards
Open
34 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about Bliss Memorial Public Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Bloomville’s civic life grade

Bloomville isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Bloomville’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 5.6 visits · typical 3.5Higher than 72%
Borrowing per resident 5.8 print items · typical 3.9Higher than 68%
Digital borrowing 0.8 e-items · typical 1Lower than 55%
Kids’ borrowing 3 kids’ items · typical 1.4Higher than 76%
Program attendance 1 attendees · typical 0.7Higher than 63%
Programs offered 33.6 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Lower than 67%
Cardholders 27% of residents · typical 54%Lower than 81%
Spending $93 per resident · typical $54Higher than 80%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Bliss Memorial Public Library serves 1,607 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Bliss Memorial Public Library system. The library’s own count.

8,996
visits
5.6 per resident
11K
loans, print + digital
6.6 per resident
54
programs & events
1,587 attended
430
library cards
27% of people served
Every open hour6items borrowed
Every week31people at a program
Every day9Wi-Fi sessions
2 staff (full-time equivalent)4 public computers
What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

11Kloans
Books & media (adults) 43%Kids’ books & media 45%E-books, audio & streaming 12%
From your couch

1,317 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.

Kids & programs

54 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Bloomville →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–519
Ages 6–114
Teens10
Adults18
All ages3
Little ones
0.4

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

4,755
kids’ books & media borrowed
1,587
people at programs
54
programs
The building

Find it

Bliss Memorial Public Library, 20 S. Marion St., Bloomville.

34
hours open a week
2,160
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Bliss Memorial Public Library branch.

New in Bloomville? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.21 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bloomville cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
1
Your card saves you about
$384
a year at retail prices · $32 a month

Who pays for it
$93 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $149K.

State 95%Gifts & other 5%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $181K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $149K 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 430 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Bliss Memorial Public Library serves 1,607 people in and around Bloomville, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Bloomville.

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 Bloomville

Does Bloomville have a public library?

Yes. Bliss Memorial Public Library, 20 S. Marion St., serves 1,607 people in and around Bloomville (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Bliss Memorial Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?

Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Bloomville’s library?

It logged 5.6 visits and lent 6.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Bloomville’s civic life grade?

Bloomville 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 Bloomville.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.