Photo: I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: · CC BY-SA 3.0Mellen’s library runs 48 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Legion Memorial Library serves Mellen’s 2,763 residents. Last year it lent 15K books, movies and e-books and logged 6,380 visits.
What stands out about Mellen’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Mellen’s civic life grade
Mellen 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 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Legion Memorial Library serves 2,763 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. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
15K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
2,505 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program a week
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Mellen last year.
Find it
Legion Memorial Library, 106 Iron St., Mellen.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Mellen? 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 $1.99 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mellen cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $124K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $246K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $124K 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 778 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mellen | Legion Memorial Library fine-free | 5.3 | 34 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Morse | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
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 Mellen
Does Mellen have a public library?
Yes. Legion Memorial Library, 106 Iron St., serves Mellen’s 2,763 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Legion 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 Mellen’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 5.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Mellen’s civic life grade?
Mellen 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 Mellen.
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.