Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Amanda

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Barr House Amanda, OhioPhoto: Sadpine · CC BY-SA 3.0
Johns Memorial Branch · part of Fairfield County District Library

Amanda’s library is a branch of Fairfield County District Library, which lends more per resident than 84% of systems its size

Amanda’s library is the Johns Memorial Branch, a branch of Fairfield County District Library, which serves 103,051 people and lent 940K items last year.

116 E. High St., Amanda 43102 · about 35 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
940K
9.1 per resident
Visits a year
189K
1.8 per resident · Below typical (2.1)
Programs & events
1,058
about 20 a week · 28K attended
Cardholders
30%
31,428 cards
Open
35 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on Amanda’s library

Ohio pays a big share

63% of the budget comes from the state, and 30% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓

Most programs are for young children

67% of the 1,058 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 9.5 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓

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; Amanda’s library is a branch of Fairfield County District Library, so they cover the whole system (103,051 people), not just the Amanda branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Amanda’s civic life grade

Amanda isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Amanda’s overall grade.

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 →

★ What stands out · What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

940K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

940Kloans
Books & media (adults) 43%Kids’ books & media 34%E-books, audio & streaming 23%
From your couch

218,642 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.8 visits · typical 2.1Lower than 60%
Borrowing per resident 7 print items · typical 3.2Higher than 84%
Digital borrowing 2.1 e-items · typical 1.4Higher than 66%
Kids’ borrowing 3.1 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 79%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.2Higher than 65%
Programs offered 10.3 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Higher than 53%
Cardholders 30% of residents · typical 41%Lower than 72%
Spending $44 per resident · typical $36Higher than 60%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Fairfield County District Library serves 103,051 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 86 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Fairfield County District Library system. The library’s own count.

189K
visits
1.8 per resident
940K
loans, print + digital
9.1 per resident
1,058
programs & events
28K attended
31K
library cards
30% of people served
Every open hour86items borrowed
Every week543people at a program
Every day214Wi-Fi sessions
47 staff (full-time equivalent)38 public computers
Kids & programs

About 14 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Amanda →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5492
Ages 6–11212
Teens48
Adults237
All ages69
Little ones
9.5

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

316K
kids’ books & media borrowed
28K
people at programs
1,058
programs
The building

Find it

Johns Memorial Branch, 116 E. High St., Amanda.

35
hours open a week
2,400
square feet
With a card

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 Fairfield County District Library branch.

New in Amanda? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.20 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Amanda cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
1
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$528
a year at retail prices · $44 a month

Who pays for it
$44 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $4.5M.

Local taxes 30%State 63%Gifts & other 7%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $14M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.5M 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 31,428 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Johns Memorial Branch is one branch of Fairfield County District Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 103,051 people it serves.

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 Amanda

Does Amanda have a public library?

Yes: Johns Memorial Branch, 116 E. High St., is a branch of Fairfield County District Library, which serves 103,051 people. The branch is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Fairfield County 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 Amanda’s library?

It logged 1.8 visits and lent 9.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Amanda’s civic life grade?

Amanda 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 Amanda.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.