Photo: Nyttend · Public domainCardington’s library runs 85 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Cardington-Lincoln Public Library serves 6,484 people in and around Cardington. Last year it lent 24K books, movies and e-books and logged 21K visits.
Cardington’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
59% of the budget comes from the state, and 33% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 60% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 52% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; Cardington-Lincoln Public Library serves 6,484 people in and around Cardington, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Cardington’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cardington is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns. Cardington is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Cardington’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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Cardington
3.5 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.1%
8.1% of Cardington’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 Cardington’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Cardington-Lincoln Public Library serves 6,484 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Cardington-Lincoln Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
24K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
5,778 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Cardington-Lincoln Public Library, 128 E. Main St., Cardington.
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 Cardington-Lincoln Public Library branch.
New in Cardington? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cardington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $491K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $443K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $491K 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 4,906 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Cardington-Lincoln Public Library serves 6,484 people in and around Cardington, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Cardington.
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 Cardington
Does Cardington have a public library?
Yes. Cardington-Lincoln Public Library, 128 E. Main St., serves 6,484 people in and around Cardington (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cardington-Lincoln 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 Cardington’s library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 3.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Cardington’s civic life grade?
B− Cardington is ahead of 51% 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 Cardington.
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.