Noble County Jail and Sheriff's Office · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainCaldwell’s library runs 7.6 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Caldwell Public Library serves 7,923 people in and around Caldwell. Last year it lent 37K books, movies and e-books and logged 17K visits.
What Caldwell’s library is like
Ohio pays a big share
94% 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
77% of the 60 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 42 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Caldwell Public Library offered 60 programs last year, 7.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. 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; Caldwell Public Library serves 7,923 people in and around Caldwell, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Caldwell’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Caldwell is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. Caldwell is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Caldwell
3.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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.
19.7%
19.7% of Caldwell’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 Caldwell’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Caldwell Public Library serves 7,923 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Caldwell Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
37K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
7,141 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
60 programs a year
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
Caldwell Public Library, 517 Spruce St., Caldwell.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Caldwell Public Library branch.
New in Caldwell? 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 $1.14 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Caldwell cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $544K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $619K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $544K 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 2,697 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caldwell | Caldwell Public Library | — | 46 | A |
| Olive Township | Caldwell Public Library | — | 46 | A− |
| Noble Township | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Center 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. Caldwell Public Library serves 7,923 people in and around Caldwell, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Caldwell.
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 Caldwell
Does Caldwell have a public library?
Yes. Caldwell Public Library, 517 Spruce St., serves 7,923 people in and around Caldwell (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Caldwell Public 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 Caldwell’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 4.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Caldwell’s civic life grade?
A Caldwell is ahead of 86% 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 Caldwell.
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.