Photo: Gshep92 · Public domainCroghan’s library lends 36 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Croghan Free Library serves Croghan’s 639 residents. Last year it lent 23K print books and media and logged 8,373 visits.
Croghan’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
1,029 cards for 639 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Croghan uses its library more than almost any town its size
Croghan Free Library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 36 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 94% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 61% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 133 items per child in Croghan last year. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Croghan Free Library serves 639 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 24 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
A place to get online
Croghan Free Library logs about 375 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 2 public computers. That’s 214 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Croghan’s civic life grade
Croghan 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 →
74 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Croghan last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Croghan Free Library serves 639 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
23K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Croghan Free Library, 9794 State Route 812, Croghan.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Croghan? 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 $9.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Croghan cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $81K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $740K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $81K 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 1,029 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. New York libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Croghan
Does Croghan have a public library?
Yes. Croghan Free Library, 9794 State Route 812, serves Croghan’s 639 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Croghan Free 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 Croghan’s library?
It logged 13.1 visits and lent 35.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Croghan’s civic life grade?
Croghan 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 Croghan.
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.