Mercer Public Library
Mercer Public Library serves 2,234 people in and around Mercer. Last year it lent 16K books, movies and e-books and logged 12K visits.
What stands out about Mercer Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.68 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mercer cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $172K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $288K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $172K 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 1,551 cardholders ÷ 12.
Strongest at digital borrowing
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.
library systems for visits per resident.
Mercer Public Library serves 2,234 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
16K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 21K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
6,081 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
118 programs a year
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.
Find it
Mercer Public Library, 2648w Margaret St., Mercer.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Mercer? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
Mercer ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manitowish Waters | Frank B. Koller Memorial Library fine-free | 15.4 | 34 |
| Mercer | Mercer Public Library fine-free | 7.1 | 47 |
| Winchester | Winchester Public Library fine-free | 3.8 | 21 |
| Sherman | None of its own | — | — |
| Oma | None of its own | — | — |
| Knight | None of its own | — | — |
| Carey | None of its own | — | — |
| Agenda | None of its own | — | — |
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.
About these numbers
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Hours are an average. The survey reports a building’s public hours for the whole year. We divide by the weeks it was open, so check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
- Compared by size. “Similar-size” means libraries serving about as many people, nationwide. Per-resident numbers always flatter the smallest towns, so they’re never compared with big cities.
- 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.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Mercer.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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.