Bethel’s library is a branch of Clermont County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 81% of systems its size
Bethel’s library is the Bethel Branch Library, a branch of Clermont County Public Library, which serves 208,601 people and lent 1.8M items last year.
Bethel’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
57% 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
69% of the 3,436 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 30 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; Bethel’s library is a branch of Clermont County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (208,601 people), not just the Bethel branch.
What’s behind Bethel’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bethel is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #532 of 914 in Ohio. Bethel is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Bethel’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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Bethel
2.5 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.0%
10.0% of Bethel’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’s residents live; 2022.
About 45 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 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Clermont County Public Library serves 208,601 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 72 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Clermont County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1.8M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
453,260 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Bethel Branch Library, 611 West Plane St., Bethel.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Clermont County Public Library branch.
New in Bethel? 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 $3.21 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bethel cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $8.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $27M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.5M 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 121,583 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Bethel Branch Library is one branch of Clermont County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 208,601 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 Bethel
Does Bethel have a public library?
Yes: Bethel Branch Library, 611 West Plane St., is a branch of Clermont County Public Library, which serves 208,601 people. The branch is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Clermont County Public 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 Bethel’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 8.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Bethel’s civic life grade?
B− Bethel is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on civic life, #532 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.
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.