Photo: Bwsmith84 · CC BY 3.0Barnesville’s library lends 8.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Barnesville Hutton Memorial Library serves 7,839 people in and around Barnesville. Last year it lent 76K books, movies and e-books and logged 20K visits.
The short version on Barnesville’s library
Ohio pays a big share
61% of the budget comes from the state, and 27% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Programs are almost all for children
88% of the 205 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3 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; Barnesville Hutton Memorial Library serves 7,839 people in and around Barnesville, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Barnesville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Barnesville is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #5 of 914 in Ohio. Barnesville is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Barnesville near the top nationally; Barnesville’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 →
43 community nonprofits are registered in Barnesville
10.9 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
14.6%
14.6% of Barnesville’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 Barnesville’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
76K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
12,815 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 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Barnesville Hutton Memorial Library serves 7,839 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 30 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Barnesville Hutton Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
About 3 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
Barnesville Hutton Memorial Public Library, 308 E Main St., Barnesville.
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 Barnesville Hutton Memorial Library branch.
New in Barnesville? 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 $2.45 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Barnesville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $499K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $499K 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 3,543 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Barnesville Hutton Memorial Library serves 7,839 people in and around Barnesville, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Barnesville.
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 Barnesville
Does Barnesville have a public library?
Yes. Barnesville Hutton Memorial Library, 308 E Main St., serves 7,839 people in and around Barnesville (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Barnesville Hutton Memorial 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 Barnesville’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 9.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Barnesville’s civic life grade?
A+ Barnesville is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #5 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 Barnesville.
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.