Photo: Photo by and ©2008 Dustin M. Ramsey (Kralizec!) · CC BY-SA 2.5Antwerp’s library is a branch of Paulding County Carnegie Library, which lends more per resident than 91% of systems its size
Antwerp’s library is the Antwerp Branch, a branch of Paulding County Carnegie Library, which serves 18,806 people and lent 230K items last year.
The short version on Antwerp’s library
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
The Paulding County Carnegie Library system ran 1,736 programs last year, about 33 a week. That’s 92 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Ohio pays a big share
47% of the budget comes from the state, and 33% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
17,806 cards for 18,806 people, or 95%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
The Paulding County Carnegie Library system lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 91% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 50% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. 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; Antwerp’s library is a branch of Paulding County Carnegie Library, so they cover the whole system (18,806 people), not just the Antwerp branch.
What’s behind Antwerp’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Antwerp is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns. Antwerp is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Antwerp’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Antwerp
3.2 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.2%
9.2% of Antwerp’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 Antwerp’s residents live; 2022.
About 14 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Paulding County Carnegie Library serves 18,806 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Paulding County Carnegie Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
230K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
35,877 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Antwerp Branch, 205 New Madison St., Antwerp.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Paulding County Carnegie Library branch.
New in Antwerp? 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 $2.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Antwerp cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 17,806 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Antwerp Branch is one branch of Paulding County Carnegie Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 18,806 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 Antwerp
Does Antwerp have a public library?
Yes: Antwerp Branch, 205 New Madison St., is a branch of Paulding County Carnegie Library, which serves 18,806 people. The branch is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Paulding County Carnegie Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Antwerp’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 12.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Antwerp’s civic life grade?
B Antwerp is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Antwerp.
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.