Merton’s library runs 51 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Town Hall Library serves 10,122 people in and around Merton. Last year it lent 85K books, movies and e-books and logged 40K visits.
What stands out about Merton’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Merton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Merton is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns, #76 of 358 in Wisconsin. Merton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
42 community nonprofits are registered in Merton
5.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.5%
9.5% of Merton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.6% in the typical Wisconsin town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Merton’s residents live; 2022.
About 5 kids’ programs 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Town Hall Library serves 10,122 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
85K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 61K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
22,314 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Town Hall Library, N76 W31429 Hwy. V V, North Lake.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Merton? 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 Merton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $689K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $689K 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 3,298 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Merton ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartland | Hartland Public Library | 14.6 | 58 | B |
| Delafield | Delafield Public Library | 12.4 | 57 | A |
| Merton | Town Hall Library fine-free | 8.4 | 56 | A− |
| North Lake | Town Hall Library fine-free | 8.4 | 56 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Chenequa | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Oconomowoc | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Erin | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Lisbon | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Okauchee Lake | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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 Merton
Does Merton have a public library?
Yes. Town Hall Library, N76 W31429 Hwy. V V, serves 10,122 people in and around Merton (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Town Hall 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 Merton’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 8.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Merton’s civic life grade?
A− Merton is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns on civic life, #76 of 358 in Wisconsin. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Merton.
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.