Photo: Chris Light Original uploader was Chris Light at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Bryan’s library runs 177 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Williams Co Public Library serves 31,533 people in and around Bryan. Last year it lent 315K books, movies and e-books and logged 130K visits.
Bryan’s library, in brief
13 times the programs of a typical library its size
Williams Co Public Library ran 5,586 programs last year, about 107 a week. That’s 177 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 39,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Ohio pays a big share
45% of the budget comes from the state, and 46% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A well-funded system
Williams Co Public Library spends $84 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
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; Williams Co Public Library serves 31,533 people in and around Bryan, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Bryan’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bryan is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #122 of 914 in Ohio. Bryan is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Bryan’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 →
111 community nonprofits are registered in Bryan
12.9 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 (20 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.
7.7%
7.7% of Bryan’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 Bryan’s residents live; 2022.
About 44 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.
Williams Co Public Library serves 31,533 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Williams Co Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
315K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
46,338 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Williams Co Public Library, 107 E. High St., Bryan.
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 Williams Co Public Library branch.
New in Bryan? 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 $1.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bryan cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.7M 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 11,782 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryan | Williams Co Public Library fine-free | — | 49 | A |
| Pulaski Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Center Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
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. Williams Co Public Library serves 31,533 people in and around Bryan, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Bryan.
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 Bryan
Does Bryan have a public library?
Yes. Williams Co Public Library, 107 E. High St., serves 31,533 people in and around Bryan (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Williams Co 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 Bryan’s library?
It logged 4.1 visits and lent 10.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Bryan’s civic life grade?
A Bryan is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on civic life, #122 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 Bryan.
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.