Thomas James Store, Old · Photo: Jennifer Glass · CC BY-SA 3.0Mathews’ library logs 3.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Mathews Memorial Library serves 8,495 people in and around Mathews. Last year it lent 19K books, movies and e-books and logged 33K visits.
What Mathews’s library is like
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Virginia pays a big share
23% of the budget comes from the state, and 73% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
42% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 42% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
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; Mathews Memorial Library serves 8,495 people in and around Mathews, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Mathews’ civic life grade
Mathews 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Mathews Memorial Library serves 8,495 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mathews Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
42% of borrowing is digital
19K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
8,162 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Mathews Memorial Library, 251 Main Street, Mathews.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Mathews Memorial Library branch.
New in Mathews? 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 Mathews cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $573K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $368K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $573K 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 1,135 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Mathews Memorial Library serves 8,495 people in and around Mathews, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Mathews.
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 Mathews
Does Mathews have a public library?
Yes. Mathews Memorial Library, 251 Main Street, serves 8,495 people in and around Mathews (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mathews Memorial 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 Mathews’ library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 2.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Mathews’ civic life grade?
Mathews 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 Mathews.
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.