Photo: Finetooth · CC BY-SA 3.0Monmouth’s library lends 9.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Monmouth Public Library serves Monmouth’s 11,019 residents. Last year it lent 105K print books and media and logged 38K visits.
Monmouth’s library, in brief
Monmouth is a town of borrowers
Monmouth Public Library lends 9.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 89% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 47% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 22 items per child in Monmouth last year. 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.
What’s behind Monmouth’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Monmouth is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns, #77 of 106 in Oregon. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
47 community nonprofits are registered in Monmouth
4.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (15 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.2%
8.2% of Monmouth’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.9% in the typical Oregon town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Monmouth’s residents live; 2022.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
105K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 74K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Monmouth Public Library serves 11,019 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 54 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
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 Monmouth last year.
Find it
Monmouth Public Library, 168 S Ecols St., Monmouth.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Monmouth? 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 $2.23 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Monmouth cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $718K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $718K 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 4,111 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monmouth | Monmouth Public Library fine-free | 9.6 | 37 | B |
| Independence | Independence Public Library fine-free | 6.4 | 35 | B+ |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Monmouth Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Monmouth
Does Monmouth have a public library?
Yes. Monmouth Public Library, 168 S Ecols St., serves Monmouth’s 11,019 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Monmouth Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Monmouth’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 9.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Monmouth’s civic life grade?
B Monmouth is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on civic life, #77 of 106 in Oregon. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Monmouth.
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.