Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBaltimore’s library is a branch of Fairfield County District Library, which lends more per resident than 84% of systems its size
Baltimore’s library is the Baltimore Branch Library, a branch of Fairfield County District Library, which serves 103,051 people and lent 940K items last year.
Baltimore’s library, in brief
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; Baltimore’s library is a branch of Fairfield County District Library, so they cover the whole system (103,051 people), not just the Baltimore branch.
What’s behind Baltimore’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Baltimore is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #187 of 914 in Ohio. Baltimore is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Baltimore
4.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.1%
10.1% of Baltimore’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 Baltimore’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
940K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
218,642 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Fairfield County District Library serves 103,051 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
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.
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.
Find it
Baltimore Branch Library, 205 E. Market St., Baltimore.
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 Baltimore? 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 $3.20 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Baltimore cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $4.5M.
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.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | Baltimore Branch Library fine-free | — | 43 | A− |
| Liberty Township | Baltimore Branch Library fine-free | — | 43 | A− |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Baltimore Branch Library 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 Baltimore
Does Baltimore have a public library?
Yes: Baltimore Branch Library, 205 E. Market St., is a branch of Fairfield County District Library, which serves 103,051 people. The branch is open about 43 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 Baltimore’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 Baltimore’s civic life grade?
A− Baltimore is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on civic life, #187 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 Baltimore.
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.