Photo: The original uploader was Willjay at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0Cambridge’s library lends 5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Guernsey County District Public Library serves 38,438 people in and around Cambridge. Last year it lent 251K books, movies and e-books and logged 85K visits.
The short version on Cambridge’s library
Ohio pays a big share
62% of the budget comes from the state, and 34% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
74% of the 363 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.5 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Guernsey County District Public Library serves 38,438 people in and around Cambridge, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Cambridge’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cambridge is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #81 of 914 in Ohio. Cambridge is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Cambridge’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 →
109 community nonprofits are registered in Cambridge
10.8 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 (27 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.
8.5%
8.5% of Cambridge’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 Cambridge’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Guernsey County District Public Library serves 38,438 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 31 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Guernsey County District Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
251K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
59,904 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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
Guernsey County District Public Library, 800 Steubenville Ave., Cambridge.
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 Guernsey County District Public Library branch.
New in Cambridge? 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 $1.97 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cambridge cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2M 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 11,514 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge | Guernsey County District Public Library fine-free | — | 47 | A |
| Cambridge Township | Guernsey County District Public Library fine-free | — | 47 | A |
| Jackson Township | Byesville Branch Library fine-free | — | 47 | 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.
- System-wide. Guernsey County District Public Library serves 38,438 people in and around Cambridge, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Cambridge.
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 Cambridge
Does Cambridge have a public library?
Yes. Guernsey County District Public Library, 800 Steubenville Ave., serves 38,438 people in and around Cambridge (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Guernsey County District 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 Cambridge’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 6.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Cambridge’s civic life grade?
A Cambridge is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on civic life, #81 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 Cambridge.
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.