Photo: Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) · CC BY-SA 2.5Bolivar’s library is a branch of Tuscarawas County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 91% of systems its size
Bolivar’s library is the Roy Parks Memorial Branch, a branch of Tuscarawas County Public Library, which serves 55,515 people and lent 751K items last year.
Bolivar’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
45% of the budget comes from the state, and 48% 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 53% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
The Tuscarawas County Public Library system lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 91% of similar-size libraries. 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; Bolivar’s library is a branch of Tuscarawas County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (55,515 people), not just the Bolivar branch.
What’s behind Bolivar’s civic life grade
Bolivar isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
About 18 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 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Tuscarawas County Public Library serves 55,515 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 64 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Tuscarawas County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
751K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
149,498 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Roy Parks Memorial Branch, 455 W Water St., Bolivar.
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 Tuscarawas County Public Library branch.
New in Bolivar? 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 $3.09 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bolivar cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.7M 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 19,996 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bolivar | Roy Parks Memorial Branch fine-free | — | 39 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lawrence Township | Roy Parks Memorial Branch fine-free | — | 39 | A− |
| Bethlehem Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
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. Roy Parks Memorial Branch is one branch of Tuscarawas County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 55,515 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 Bolivar
Does Bolivar have a public library?
Yes: Roy Parks Memorial Branch, 455 W Water St., is a branch of Tuscarawas County Public Library, which serves 55,515 people. The branch is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Tuscarawas 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 Bolivar’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 13.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Bolivar’s civic life grade?
Bolivar isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Bolivar.
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.