Photo: Batterup55 · CC BY-SA 4.0McLean’s library runs 80 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Lovett Memorial Library Mclean serves 788 people in and around McLean. Last year it lent 20K books, movies and e-books and logged 2,264 visits.
The short version on McLean’s library
Most of McLean’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 86% of loans, more per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 14%. What people borrow ↓
A small-town library
Lovett Memorial Library Mclean serves 788 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 45 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Programs lean toward adults
71% of the 63 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 17 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
McLean invests in its library
Lovett Memorial Library Mclean spends $120 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (94%) comes from local taxes. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind McLean’s civic life grade
McLean 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 →
86% of borrowing is digital
20K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
17,064 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Lovett Memorial Library Mclean serves 788 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
63 programs a year
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.
Find it
Lovett Memorial Library Mclean, 302 N Main, Mclean.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in McLean? 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 $3.25 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average McLean cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $94K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $306K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $94K 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 396 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 McLean
Does McLean have a public library?
Yes. Lovett Memorial Library Mclean, 302 N Main, serves 788 people in and around McLean (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lovett Memorial Library Mclean 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 McLean’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 25.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is McLean’s civic life grade?
McLean 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 McLean.
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.