Photo: Nyttend · Public domainCoal Township’s library runs 1,404 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
New Straitsville Public Library serves 654 people in and around Coal Township. Last year it lent 2,913 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,680 visits.
The short version on Coal Township’s library
Ohio pays a big share
96% of the budget comes from the state, and 0% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
23 times the programs of a typical library its size
New Straitsville Public Library ran 918 programs last year, about 18 a week. That’s 1,404 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 2,628 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
New Straitsville Public Library serves 654 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 25 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Coal Township invests in its library
New Straitsville Public Library spends $201 per resident a year, about four times the typical $54 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Nearly everyone in Coal Township has a card
565 cards for 654 people, or 86%. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Coal Township’s civic life grade
Coal Township 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 4 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, 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 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
New Straitsville Public Library serves 654 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2,913 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
335 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
New Straitsville Public Library, 102 E Main St., New Straitsville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Coal Township? 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 Coal Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $132K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $115K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $132K 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 565 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coal Township | New Straitsville Public Library fine-free | 4.5 | 25 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Monroe Township | Corning Branch fine-free | — | 20 | B− |
| Falls Township | Logan-Hocking County District Library | — | 57 | A− |
| Salt Lick Township | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Ward Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Hemlock | 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Coal Township
Does Coal Township have a public library?
Yes. New Straitsville Public Library, 102 E Main St., serves 654 people in and around Coal Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New Straitsville 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 Coal Township’s library?
It logged 7.2 visits and lent 4.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Coal Township’s civic life grade?
Coal Township 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 Coal Township.
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.