Robert P. Duncan House · Photo: Skorry · CC BY-SA 3.0Bexley’s library lends 28 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Bexley Public Library serves 13,906 people in and around Bexley. Last year it lent 509K books, movies and e-books and logged 163K visits.
Bexley’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
27,957 cards for 13,906 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Bexley Public Library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 28 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 98% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Ohio pays a big share
50% of the budget comes from the state, and 40% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 42% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 8.6 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. It’s 24% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
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; Bexley Public Library serves 13,906 people in and around Bexley, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Bexley’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bexley is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #18 of 914 in Ohio. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
94 community nonprofits are registered in Bexley
7.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (25 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
11.9%
11.9% of Bexley’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 Bexley’s residents live; 2022.
About 11 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Bexley Public Library serves 13,906 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 163 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Bexley Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
509K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
119,830 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Bexley Public Library, 2411 E. Main St., Bexley.
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 Bexley Public Library branch.
New in Bexley? 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 $2.66 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bexley cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3M 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 27,957 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Bexley Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- System-wide. Bexley Public Library serves 13,906 people in and around Bexley, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Bexley.
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 Bexley
Does Bexley have a public library?
Yes. Bexley Public Library, 2411 E. Main St., serves 13,906 people in and around Bexley (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bexley 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 Bexley’s library?
It logged 11.7 visits and lent 36.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Bexley’s civic life grade?
A+ Bexley is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on civic life, #18 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 Bexley.
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.