Photo: JodyMBrumage. The original uploader was JodyMBrumage at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 4.0Union’s library logs 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Monroe County Public Library serves 6,629 people in and around Union. Last year it lent 9,512 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,132 visits.
Union’s library, in brief
Monroe County Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Monroe County Public Library records 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $15 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Monroe County Public Library offered 25 programs last year, 3.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
31% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 33%. What your card is worth ↓
48% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 48% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
Monroe County Public Library spends $15 per resident, less than 91% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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; Monroe County Public Library serves 6,629 people in and around Union, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Union’s civic life grade
Union 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 →
48% of borrowing is digital
9,512 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Union’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
4,605 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 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Monroe County Public Library serves 6,629 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Monroe County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
25 programs a year
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
Monroe County Public Library, 303 South Main Street, Union.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Monroe County Public Library branch.
New in Union? 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 $1.57 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Union cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $98K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $154K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $98K 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 3,036 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Monroe County Public Library serves 6,629 people in and around Union, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Union.
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 Union
Does Union have a public library?
Yes. Monroe County Public Library, 303 South Main Street, serves 6,629 people in and around Union (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Monroe County Public 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 Union’s library?
It logged 0.3 visits and lent 1.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Union’s civic life grade?
Union 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 Union.
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.