Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBethel Township’s library lends 19 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
New Carlisle Public Library serves 6,323 people in and around Bethel Township. Last year it lent 154K books, movies and e-books and logged 56K visits.
The short version on Bethel Township’s library
Ohio pays a big share
85% of the budget comes from the state, and 10% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
More library cards than residents
7,420 cards for 6,323 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Bethel Township uses its library more than almost any town its size
New Carlisle Public Library logs 8.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 19 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 92% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 55% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
New Carlisle Public Library ran 748 programs last year, about 14 a week. That’s 118 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 9,404 attended. 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.
What’s behind Bethel Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bethel Township is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns, #596 of 914 in Ohio. Bethel Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Bethel Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($50K–$83K) 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 →
49 community nonprofits are registered in Bethel Township
2.7 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 (16 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.
8.8%
8.8% of Bethel Township’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 Bethel Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 5 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, 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 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
New Carlisle Public Library serves 6,323 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 49 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
154K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 54K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.2 times last year, on average.
35,767 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
New Carlisle Public Library, 111 E. Lake Ave, New Carlisle.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Bethel Township? 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 $3.58 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bethel Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $660K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $660K 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 7,420 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethel Township | New Carlisle Public Library fine-free | 24.4 | 61 | C+ |
| New Carlisle | New Carlisle Public Library fine-free | 24.4 | 61 | B+ |
| Mad River Township | Enon Branch fine-free | — | 54 | B |
| Huber Heights | Huber Heights Branch Library fine-free | — | 59 | C+ |
| Bath Township | Fairborn Branch Library | — | 56 | B |
| Pike Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Springfield Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| German Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Park Layne | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Bethel Township
Does Bethel Township have a public library?
Yes. New Carlisle Public Library, 111 E. Lake Ave, serves 6,323 people in and around Bethel Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New Carlisle 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 Bethel Township’s library?
It logged 8.8 visits and lent 24.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Bethel Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Bethel Township is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on civic life, #596 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 Bethel Township.
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.