Delaware County Courthouse · Photo: Christopher L. Riley · CC BY-SA 4.0Delaware’s library lends 9.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries its size
Delaware County District Library serves 165,831 people in and around Delaware. Last year it lent 2M books, movies and e-books and logged 487K visits.
Delaware’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 57% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
Delaware County District Library lends 9.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 93% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Ohio pays a big share
31% of the budget comes from the state, and 56% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
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; Delaware County District Library serves 165,831 people in and around Delaware, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Delaware’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Delaware is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #86 of 914 in Ohio. Delaware is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Delaware’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 →
264 community nonprofits are registered in Delaware
5.9 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 (46 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 11 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.9%
9.9% of Delaware’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 Delaware’s residents live; 2022.
About 13 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 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Delaware County District Library serves 165,831 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 140 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Delaware County District Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
433,553 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Delaware County District Library, 84 E. Winter St., Delaware.
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 Delaware County District Library branch.
New in Delaware? 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 $3.35 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Delaware cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $8.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $29M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.5M 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 100,230 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware | Delaware County District Library fine-free | — | 50 | A |
| Liberty Township | Liberty Branch fine-free | — | 50 | B+ |
| Scioto Township | Ostrander Branch fine-free | — | 39 | A− |
| Delaware Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Troy Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Brown Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Berlin Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Concord Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
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. Delaware County District Library serves 165,831 people in and around Delaware, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Delaware.
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 Delaware
Does Delaware have a public library?
Yes. Delaware County District Library, 84 E. Winter St., serves 165,831 people in and around Delaware (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Delaware County District 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 Delaware’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 11.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Delaware’s civic life grade?
A Delaware is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on civic life, #86 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 Delaware.
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.