Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBrown Township’s library is a branch of Paulding County Carnegie Library, which lends more per resident than 91% of systems its size
Brown Township’s library is the Oakwood Branch, a branch of Paulding County Carnegie Library, which serves 18,806 people and lent 230K items last year.
Brown Township’s library, in brief
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
The Paulding County Carnegie Library system ran 1,736 programs last year, about 33 a week. That’s 92 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Ohio pays a big share
47% of the budget comes from the state, and 33% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
17,806 cards for 18,806 people, or 95%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
The Paulding County Carnegie Library system lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 91% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 50% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. 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; Brown Township’s library is a branch of Paulding County Carnegie Library, so they cover the whole system (18,806 people), not just the Brown Township branch.
What’s behind Brown Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Brown Township is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns. Brown Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Brown Township’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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Brown Township
2.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.8%
13.8% of Brown Township’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 Brown Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 14 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.
Paulding County Carnegie Library serves 18,806 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Paulding County Carnegie Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
230K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
35,877 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Oakwood Branch, 206 N First St., Oakwood.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Paulding County Carnegie Library branch.
New in Brown Township? 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 $2.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Brown Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M 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 17,806 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown Township | Oakwood Branch | — | 42 | B |
| Monroe Township | Continental Branch fine-free | — | 27 | B |
| Washington Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Jackson Township | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Auglaize Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Melrose | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Oakwood Branch is one branch of Paulding County Carnegie Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 18,806 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 Brown Township
Does Brown Township have a public library?
Yes: Oakwood Branch, 206 N First St., is a branch of Paulding County Carnegie Library, which serves 18,806 people. The branch is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Paulding County Carnegie 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 Brown Township’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 12.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Brown Township’s civic life grade?
B Brown Township is ahead of 58% 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 Brown Township.
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.