Photo: Nyttend · Public domainAda’s library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Ada Public School District Library serves 7,269 people in and around Ada. Last year it lent 98K books, movies and e-books and logged 43K visits.
Ada’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 66% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Ohio pays a big share
50% of the budget comes from the state, and 40% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
Ada Public School District Library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 94% 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; Ada Public School District Library serves 7,269 people in and around Ada, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Ada’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ada is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #19 of 914 in Ohio. Ada is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Ada’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
42 community nonprofits are registered in Ada
8.8 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.
11.6%
11.6% of Ada’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.5% in the typical Ohio 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 Ada’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Ada Public School District Library serves 7,269 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 38 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Ada Public School District Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
98K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
14,223 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Ada Public School District Library, 320 N Main St., Ada.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Ada Public School District Library branch.
New in Ada? 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 $3.83 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ada cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $381K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $381K 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 2,636 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Ada Public School District Library serves 7,269 people in and around Ada, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Ada.
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 Ada
Does Ada have a public library?
Yes. Ada Public School District Library, 320 N Main St., serves 7,269 people in and around Ada (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ada Public School District 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 Ada’s library?
It logged 5.9 visits and lent 13.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Ada’s civic life grade?
A+ Ada is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on civic life, #19 of 914 in Ohio. 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 Ada.
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.