Photo: Nyttend · Public domainCovington’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
J.R. Clarke Public Library serves 4,958 people in and around Covington. Last year it lent 56K books, movies and e-books and logged 18K visits.
Covington’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
7,308 cards for 4,958 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Ohio pays a big share
91% of the budget comes from the state, and 0% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 75% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
J.R. Clarke Public Library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 92% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 6% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 61% 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; J.R. Clarke Public Library serves 4,958 people in and around Covington, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Covington’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Covington is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns, #274 of 914 in Ohio. Covington is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Covington’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Covington
5.2 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.2%
8.2% of Covington’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 Covington’s residents live; 2022.
About 1 kids’ program 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 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
J.R. Clarke Public Library serves 4,958 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole J.R. Clarke Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
56K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,588 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
J.R. Clarke Public Library, 102 E. Spring St., Covington.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every J.R. Clarke Public Library branch.
New in Covington? 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 $3.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Covington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $255K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $807K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $255K 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 7,308 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. J.R. Clarke Public Library serves 4,958 people in and around Covington, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Covington.
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 Covington
Does Covington have a public library?
Yes. J.R. Clarke Public Library, 102 E. Spring St., serves 4,958 people in and around Covington (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is J.R. Clarke 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 Covington’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 11.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Covington’s civic life grade?
A− Covington is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns on civic life, #274 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 Covington.
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.