Photo: SilentMatt Psychedelic · CC BY-SA 4.0Brimfield’s library is a branch of Portage County District Library, which lends more per resident than 50% of systems its size
Brimfield’s library is the Brimfield Library, a branch of Portage County District Library, which serves 106,087 people and lent 410K items last year.
The short version on Brimfield’s library
Ohio pays a big share
45% of the budget comes from the state, and 51% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
The Portage County District Library system records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, below 90% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 3.1 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
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; Brimfield’s library is a branch of Portage County District Library, so they cover the whole system (106,087 people), not just the Brimfield branch.
What’s behind Brimfield’s civic life grade
Brimfield isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Portage County District Library, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 →
Volunteering in Brimfield
Brimfield is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
9.3%
9.3% of Brimfield’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 Brimfield’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Portage County District Library serves 106,087 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Portage County District Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
410K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
78,714 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 12 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.
Find it
Brimfield Library, 4286 Kelso Drive, Brimfield.
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 Portage County District Library branch.
New in Brimfield? 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 $1.50 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Brimfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $4.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.3M 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 23,377 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Brimfield Library is one branch of Portage County District Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 106,087 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 Brimfield
Does Brimfield have a public library?
Yes: Brimfield Library, 4286 Kelso Drive, is a branch of Portage County District Library, which serves 106,087 people. The branch is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Portage 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 Brimfield’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 3.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Brimfield’s civic life grade?
Brimfield isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Portage County District Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Brimfield.
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.