Photo: NearEMPTiness · CC BY-SA 4.0La Grange’s library lends 4.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Oldham County Public Library serves 70,183 people in and around La Grange. Last year it lent 468K books, movies and e-books and logged 172K visits.
The short version on La Grange’s library
Above typical on nearly every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Oldham County Public Library is above the middle on six of the seven per-resident measures we compare, and close to it on the other, with three in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 65% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 73% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; Oldham County Public Library serves 70,183 people in and around La Grange, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind La Grange’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, La Grange is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns, #79 of 126 in Kentucky. La Grange is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($66K–$111K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
29 community nonprofits are registered in La Grange
2.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.1%
7.1% of La Grange’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.6% in the typical Kentucky 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 La Grange’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Oldham County Public Library serves 70,183 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 65 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Oldham County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
468K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
154,092 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 10 kids’ programs a week
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
Oldham County Public Library, 308 Yager Avenue, Lagrange.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Oldham County Public Library branch.
New in La Grange? 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 $2.88 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average La Grange cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.5M 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 29,448 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Oldham County Public Library serves 70,183 people in and around La Grange, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just La Grange.
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 La Grange
Does La Grange have a public library?
Yes. Oldham County Public Library, 308 Yager Avenue, serves 70,183 people in and around La Grange (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Oldham County Public 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 La Grange’s library?
It logged 2.5 visits and lent 6.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is La Grange’s civic life grade?
C La Grange is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns on civic life, #79 of 126 in Kentucky. 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 La Grange.
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.