Photo: Nyttend · Public domainCarey’s library lends 16 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Dorcas Carey Public Library serves 5,140 people in and around Carey. Last year it lent 91K books, movies and e-books and logged 22K visits.
Carey’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 58% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Dorcas Carey Public Library ran 904 programs last year, about 17 a week. That’s 176 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 21,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Ohio pays a big share
56% of the budget comes from the state, and 27% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
Dorcas Carey Public Library lends 16 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 98% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
80% of the 904 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 6.5 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; Dorcas Carey Public Library serves 5,140 people in and around Carey, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Carey’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Carey is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #13 of 914 in Ohio. Carey is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Carey near the top nationally; 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 →
29 community nonprofits are registered in Carey
8.0 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
14.3%
14.3% of Carey’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 Carey’s residents live; 2022.
About 14 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Dorcas Carey Public Library serves 5,140 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 31 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Dorcas Carey Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
91K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
8,647 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Dorcas Carey Public Library, 236 E. Findlay St., Carey.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Dorcas Carey Public Library branch.
New in Carey? 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 $2.84 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Carey cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $539K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $539K 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 3,793 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Dorcas Carey Public Library serves 5,140 people in and around Carey, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Carey.
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 Carey
Does Carey have a public library?
Yes. Dorcas Carey Public Library, 236 E. Findlay St., serves 5,140 people in and around Carey (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dorcas Carey 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 Carey’s library?
It logged 4.2 visits and lent 17.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Carey’s civic life grade?
A+ Carey is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on civic life, #13 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 Carey.
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.