Photo: Bennett-ne · CC BY-SA 3.0Bedford’s library is a branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 97% of systems its size
Bedford’s library is the Bedford Branch, a branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library, which serves 626,288 people and lent 12M items last year.
What Bedford’s library is like
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Cuyahoga County Public Library system logs 6.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 6.8 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. It’s 36% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 46% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
The Cuyahoga County Public Library system spends $119 per resident a year, about three times the typical $36 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Ohio pays a big share
27% of the budget comes from the state, and 65% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
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; Bedford’s library is a branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (626,288 people), not just the Bedford branch.
What’s behind Bedford’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bedford is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns, #832 of 914 in Ohio. Bedford is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Bedford’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$72K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
48 community nonprofits are registered in Bedford
3.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (17 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.7%
3.7% of Bedford’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 Bedford’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 123 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Cuyahoga County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Cuyahoga County Public Library serves 626,288 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
12M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,227,464 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 167 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
Bedford Branch, 70 Columbus Rd., Bedford.
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 Cuyahoga County Public Library branch.
New in Bedford? 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 $2.37 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bedford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $75M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $177M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $75M 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 509,650 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford | Bedford Branch fine-free | — | 67 | C− |
| Maple Heights | Maple Heights Branch Library fine-free | — | 67 | D |
| Walton Hills | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Oakwood | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Bedford Heights | None of its own | — | — | C− |
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. Bedford Branch is one branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 626,288 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 Bedford
Does Bedford have a public library?
Yes: Bedford Branch, 70 Columbus Rd., is a branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library, which serves 626,288 people. The branch is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cuyahoga County Public 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 Bedford’s library?
It logged 6.3 visits and lent 18.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Bedford’s civic life grade?
C− Bedford is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns on civic life, #832 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 Bedford.
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.