Photo: Nyttend · Public domainChickasaw’s library is a branch of Mercer County District Public Library, which lends more per resident than 73% of systems its size
Chickasaw’s library is the Marion Branch Library, a branch of Mercer County District Public Library, which serves 29,024 people and lent 276K items last year.
The short version on Chickasaw’s library
Ohio pays a big share
74% of the budget comes from the state, and 21% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.2 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. It’s 34% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 61% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 82% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 853 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 6.6 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; Chickasaw’s library is a branch of Mercer County District Public Library, so they cover the whole system (29,024 people), not just the Chickasaw branch.
What’s behind Chickasaw’s civic life grade
Chickasaw isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
About 11 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 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Mercer County District Public Library serves 29,024 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 33 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mercer County District Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
276K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
93,981 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Marion Branch Library, 5 E Franklin St., Chickasaw.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Mercer County District Public Library branch.
New in Chickasaw? 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 $3.13 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chickasaw cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.3M 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 9,708 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Marion Branch Library is one branch of Mercer County District Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 29,024 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 Chickasaw
Does Chickasaw have a public library?
Yes: Marion Branch Library, 5 E Franklin St., is a branch of Mercer County District Public Library, which serves 29,024 people. The branch is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mercer 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 Chickasaw’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 9.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Chickasaw’s civic life grade?
Chickasaw isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Chickasaw.
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.