Irion County Courthouse · Photo: Caesarscott · CC BY-SA 3.0Mertzon’s library logs 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Mb Noelke Jr Memorial Library serves 1,549 people in and around Mertzon. Last year it lent 3,159 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,388 visits.
The short version on Mertzon’s library
Mb Noelke Jr Memorial Library is used less than most libraries its size
Mb Noelke Jr Memorial Library records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $31 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Most of the library’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 77% of loans, more per resident than at 65% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 23%. What people borrow ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Mb Noelke Jr Memorial Library offered 8 programs last year, 5.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
The Mertzon branch keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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; Mb Noelke Jr Memorial Library serves 1,549 people in and around Mertzon, 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 Mertzon’s civic life grade
Mertzon 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 →
77% of borrowing is digital
3,159 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,438 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 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Mb Noelke Jr Memorial Library serves 1,549 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 Mb Noelke Jr Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
8 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Mb Noelke Jr Memorial Library, 101 S Broadway St., Mertzon.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Mb Noelke Jr Memorial Library branch.
New in Mertzon? 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 $1.13 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mertzon cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $48K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $54K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $48K 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 455 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Mb Noelke Jr Memorial Library serves 1,549 people in and around Mertzon, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Mertzon.
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 Mertzon
Does Mertzon have a public library?
Yes. Mb Noelke Jr Memorial Library, 101 S Broadway St., serves 1,549 people in and around Mertzon (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mb Noelke Jr Memorial 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 Mertzon’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Mertzon’s civic life grade?
Mertzon 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 Mertzon.
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.