Photo: Tudor Costache / TheGiantVermin at English Wikipedia · CC BY 2.5Norfolk County Public Library lends 2.1 items per person served, fewer than 90% of Ontario’s town libraries
Norfolk County Public Library has 5 branches for the 67,490 people it serves. In 2024 it logged 3.1 visits for every person it serves. Ontario counts visits over one typical week and multiplies by 52, so the yearly figure is an estimate.
C+Civic life#447 of 866 in OntarioBehind Simcoe’s civic life grade
Civic life in Simcoe grades C+: #447 of the 866 towns graded in Ontario. A civic life grade combines library visits per resident, registered charities per 1,000 residents and the province’s volunteering rate, and all three exist for Simcoe.
Informal groups and mutual aid go uncounted.
Sources: provincial statistics, the CRA, Statistics Canada.
145 registered charities give a Simcoe mailing address
That is 1.9 per 1,000 residents, against 1.4 in the typical Ontario town and 1.4 across Canada. Charities are placed by mailing address, which flatters service towns whose post office serves a region and undercounts suburbs and rural municipalities.
32.1%
For 2023, the provincial survey estimates that 32.1% of people in Ontario volunteered formally (likely 31.0% to 33.2%); among the ten provinces the rate goes from 25.2% to 40.3%.
Statistics Canada, table 45-10-0039.
Behind most of Ontario’s town libraries on all 3 measures
Per person served, against the 195 town libraries in Ontario’s 2024 statistics.
Town libraries only; regional systems left out.
About 3,998 visits in a typical week
What Norfolk County Public Library counted in 2024, as the library reported it.
Simcoe’s 5 public libraries
Sorted by straight-line distance from the centre of Simcoe.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Library locations. Public library locations are taken from OpenStreetMap and a 2020 Statistics Canada inventory, merged where both list one place.
Questions about the library and civic life in Simcoe
Does Simcoe have a public library?
Yes, 5: Norfolk County Public Library - Simcoe Branch, Norfolk County Public Library - Delhi Branch, Norfolk County Public Library - Port Dover Branch, Norfolk County Public Library - Port Rowan Branch and 1 more.
How busy is Norfolk County Public Library?
The 2024 totals: 207,896 in-person visits, 140,629 loans.
Library statistics: Ontario Public Library Statistics, 2024. Library locations: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Statistics Canada, Open Database of Cultural and Art Facilities (2020). Charities: Canada Revenue Agency, List of charities (2024), charitable organizations only.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).