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Murray Family Memorial Plazza Clock Tower and cars and municiple buildingPhoto: Webprog67 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Bethesda Branch · part of Belmont County District Library

Bethesda’s library is a branch of Belmont County District Library, which lends less per resident than 63% of systems its size

Bethesda’s library is the Bethesda Branch, a branch of Belmont County District Library, which serves 33,295 people and lent 114K items last year.

112 N. Main Street, Bethesda 43719 · about 36 hours a week
A+Civic lifeAhead of 97% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (740) 484-4532 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
114K
3.4 per resident
Visits a year
75K
2.3 per resident · Below typical (2.6)
Programs & events
1,560
about 30 a week · 19K attended
Cardholders
20%
6,614 cards
Open
36 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

Bethesda’s library, in brief

Three times the programs of a typical library its size

The Belmont County District Library system ran 1,560 programs last year, about 30 a week. That’s 47 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓

Ohio pays a big share

51% of the budget comes from the state, and 39% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓

Most programs are for young children

76% of the 1,560 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 15 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; Bethesda’s library is a branch of Belmont County District Library, so they cover the whole system (33,295 people), not just the Bethesda branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Bethesda’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bethesda is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns. Bethesda is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Bethesda’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.

A+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Bethesda’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureA+Community nonprofits11.3 per 1,000 residents · OH towns 3.9 · U.S. 3.7A−Volunteering10.3% of adults 25–44 · OH towns 8.5% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 97%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $27K–$45K (1,172)Ahead of 97%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Bethesda is small (1,179 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

14 community nonprofits are registered in Bethesda

11.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.81 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation43.23 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans43.23 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.81 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.81 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals21.61 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.81 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

10.3%

10.3% of Bethesda’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 Bethesda’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 23 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Bethesda →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5780
Ages 6–11405
Teens10
Adults363
All ages2
Little ones
15

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

30K
kids’ books & media borrowed
19K
people at programs
1,560
programs
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.3 visits · typical 2.6Lower than 58%
Borrowing per resident 2.7 print items · typical 3.7Lower than 63%
Digital borrowing 0.7 e-items · typical 1.2Lower than 67%
Kids’ borrowing 0.9 kids’ items · typical 1.7Lower than 71%
Program attendance 0.6 attendees · typical 0.3Higher than 80%
Programs offered 46.9 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Top 10%
Cardholders 20% of residents · typical 39%Lower than 86%
Spending $58 per resident · typical $40Higher than 70%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Belmont County District Library serves 33,295 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Belmont County District Library system. The library’s own count.

75K
visits
2.3 per resident
114K
loans, print + digital
3.4 per resident
1,560
programs & events
19K attended
6,614
library cards
20% of people served
Every open hour9items borrowed
Every week371people at a program
Every day206Wi-Fi sessions
26 staff (full-time equivalent)18 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

114K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

114Kloans
Books & media (adults) 52%Kids’ books & media 26%E-books, audio & streaming 22%
From your couch

24,621 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

The building

Find it

Bethesda Branch, 112 N. Main Street, Bethesda.

Directions(740) 484-4532
36
hours open a week
1,300
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Belmont County District Library branch.

New in Bethesda? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.12 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bethesda cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
1
Your card saves you about
$240
a year at retail prices · $20 a month

Who pays for it
$58 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.9M.

Local taxes 39%State 51%Gifts & other 10%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.9M 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 6,614 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Bethesda Branch is one branch of Belmont County District Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 33,295 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 Bethesda

Does Bethesda have a public library?

Yes: Bethesda Branch, 112 N. Main Street, is a branch of Belmont County District Library, which serves 33,295 people. The branch is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Belmont 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 Bethesda’s library?

It logged 2.3 visits and lent 3.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is Bethesda’s civic life grade?

A+ Bethesda is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Bethesda.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.