Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 4.0Chardon’s library is a branch of Geauga County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 99% of systems its size
Chardon’s library is the Chardon Branch, a branch of Geauga County Public Library, which serves 85,791 people and lent 3M items last year.
What Chardon’s library is like
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Geauga County Public Library system logs 7.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 28 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 95% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 46% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 7.2 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. It’s 20% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Ohio pays a big share
30% of the budget comes from the state, and 56% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
The Geauga County Public Library system ran 2,909 programs last year, about 56 a week. That’s 34 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 66,000 attended. 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; Chardon’s library is a branch of Geauga County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (85,791 people), not just the Chardon branch.
What’s behind Chardon’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Chardon is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns, #412 of 914 in Ohio. Chardon is graded on two of the three inputs. Chardon’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
27 community nonprofits are registered in Chardon
5.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.2%
7.2% of Chardon’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 Chardon’s residents live; 2022.
About 26 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 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Geauga County Public Library serves 85,791 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 136 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Geauga County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
3M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
616,016 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Chardon
Chardon Branch, 110 E Park St., Chardon.
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 Geauga County Public Library branch.
New in Chardon? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Geauga County Public Library branches in Chardon
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $5.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chardon cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $8.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $46M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.6M 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 46,621 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chardon | Chardon Branch fine-free | — | 68 | B |
| Claridon Township | Geauga County Public Library fine-free | — | 45 | B |
| Chardon Township | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
| Munson Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Hambden Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Bass Lake | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Chardon Branch is one branch of Geauga County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 85,791 people it serves.
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 Chardon
Does Chardon have a public library?
Yes: Chardon Branch, 110 E Park St., is a branch of Geauga County Public Library, which serves 85,791 people. The branch is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Geauga County 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 Chardon’s library?
It logged 7.2 visits and lent 35.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Chardon’s civic life grade?
B Chardon is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on civic life, #412 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 Chardon.
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.