Gage Hotel · Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domainMarathon’s library logs 19 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Marathon Public Library serves 1,269 people in and around Marathon. Last year it lent 1,818 print books and media and logged 24K visits.
The short version on Marathon’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
91% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 9%. What your card is worth ↓
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 97% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 15%. The building also logs about 26 Wi-Fi sessions a day. Program attendance beats 85% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Marathon Public Library ran 287 programs last year, about 6 a week. That’s 226 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 2,609 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Programs are almost all for children
80% of the 287 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 17% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Marathon Public Library serves 1,269 people in and around Marathon, 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 Marathon’s civic life grade
Marathon 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 →
A year at Marathon Public Library
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Marathon Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Marathon Public Library serves 1,269 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Books and media off the shelf
1,818 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
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
Marathon Public Library, 106 N 3rd St., Marathon.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Good at every Marathon Public Library branch.
New in Marathon? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Marathon cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $233K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $83K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $233K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 212 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Marathon’s 24,312 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Marathon Public Library serves 1,269 people in and around Marathon, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Marathon.
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 Marathon
Does Marathon have a public library?
Yes. Marathon Public Library, 106 N 3rd St., serves 1,269 people in and around Marathon (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Marathon Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Marathon’s library?
It logged 19.2 visits and lent 1.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Marathon’s civic life grade?
Marathon 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 Marathon.
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.