Photo: Roseohioresident · CC BY-SA 4.0Brown Township’s library is a branch of Carroll County District Library, which lends more per resident than 82% of systems its size
Brown Township’s library is the Malvern Branch Library, a branch of Carroll County District Library, which serves 21,721 people and lent 191K items last year.
Brown Township’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
96% of the budget comes from the state, and 0% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
76% of the 860 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.4 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
The Carroll County District Library system logs 6.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 88% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 7.6 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; Brown Township’s library is a branch of Carroll County District Library, so they cover the whole system (21,721 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 63% of U.S. towns, #416 of 914 in Ohio. Brown Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Brown Township’s count of community nonprofits ranks 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 →
33 community nonprofits are registered in Brown Township
4.5 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.8%
7.8% 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.
Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Carroll County District Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Carroll County District Library serves 21,721 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
191K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
26,463 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 13 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
Malvern Branch Library, 710 E Porter St., Malvern.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Carroll County District 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 $3.67 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 $824K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $824K 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 7,264 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 | Malvern Branch Library | — | 45 | B |
| Paris Township | Minerva Public Library fine-free | — | 45 | B |
| Osnaburg Township | East Canton Branch Library fine-free | — | 54 | A− |
| Augusta Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Harrison Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Sandy Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Rose Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
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. Malvern Branch Library is one branch of Carroll County District Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 21,721 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: Malvern Branch Library, 710 E Porter St., is a branch of Carroll County District Library, which serves 21,721 people. The branch is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Carroll County District 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 6.5 visits and lent 8.8 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 63% of U.S. towns on civic life, #416 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 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.