Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBurlington Township’s library lends 19 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Homer Public Library serves Burlington Township’s 1,222 residents. Last year it lent 25K books, movies and e-books and logged 3,484 visits.
What Burlington Township’s library is like
Ohio pays a big share
92% of the budget comes from the state, and 0% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 60%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 46% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 20 items per child in Burlington Township last year. Kids & programs ↓
Burlington Township invests in its library
Homer Public Library spends $186 per resident a year, about three times the typical $54 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Burlington Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Burlington Township is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns. Burlington Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Burlington 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Burlington Township
3.2 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.2%
9.2% of Burlington 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 Burlington Township’s residents live; 2022.
174 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Burlington Township last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Homer Public Library serves 1,222 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
25K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 28K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
2,225 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Homer Public Library, 385 South St. N.W., Utica.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Burlington 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 $1.70 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Burlington Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $227K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $386K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $227K 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 567 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington Township | Homer Public Library fine-free | 20.4 | 47 | B |
| Washington Township | Utica Branch Library fine-free | — | 35 | A− |
| Bennington Township | None of its own | — | — | A |
| McKean Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Miller Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Morgan 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Burlington Township
Does Burlington Township have a public library?
Yes. Homer Public Library, 385 South St. N.W., serves Burlington Township’s 1,222 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Homer 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 Burlington Township’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 20.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Burlington Township’s civic life grade?
B Burlington Township is ahead of 57% 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 Burlington 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.