St. Mary's School · Photo: Jatakuck · CC BY-SA 3.0Elkton’s library logs 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Elkton School/Community Library serves 1,561 people in and around Elkton. Last year it lent 3,019 books, movies and e-books and logged 884 visits.
The short version on Elkton’s library
Elkton School/Community Library is used less than most libraries its size
Elkton School/Community Library records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $20 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
96% of the 50 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 36 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Elkton branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 9% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Elkton School/Community Library spends $20 per resident, less than 91% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). What your card is worth ↓
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; Elkton School/Community Library serves 1,561 people in and around Elkton, 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 Elkton’s civic life grade
Elkton 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 →
43% of borrowing is digital
3,019 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,289 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Elkton School/Community Library serves 1,561 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 Elkton School/Community Library system. The library’s own count.
50 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
Elkton School/Community Library, 508 Buffalo St., Elkton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Elkton School/Community Library branch.
New in Elkton? 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 $1.62 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elkton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $31K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $50K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $31K 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 139 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Elkton School/Community Library serves 1,561 people in and around Elkton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Elkton.
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 Elkton
Does Elkton have a public library?
Yes. Elkton School/Community Library, 508 Buffalo St., serves 1,561 people in and around Elkton (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Elkton School/Community 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 Elkton’s library?
It logged 0.6 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Elkton’s civic life grade?
Elkton 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 Elkton.
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.