Photo: David Wilson · CC BY 2.0Delphos’ library lends 25 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Delphos Public Library serves 9,903 people in and around Delphos. Last year it lent 288K books, movies and e-books and logged 67K visits.
The short version on Delphos’s library
Ohio pays a big share
80% of the budget comes from the state, and 9% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Delphos Public Library logs 6.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 25 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 85% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 47% 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 3.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. It’s 13% of all loans. 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; Delphos Public Library serves 9,903 people in and around Delphos, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Delphos’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Delphos is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #252 of 914 in Ohio. Delphos is graded on two of the three inputs. Delphos’ 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 →
67 community nonprofits are registered in Delphos
9.4 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.0%
7.0% of Delphos’ 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 Delphos’ residents live; 2022.
About 2 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 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Delphos Public Library serves 9,903 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 116 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Delphos Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
288K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
38,872 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Delphos Public Library, 309 W. 2nd St., Delphos.
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 Delphos Public Library branch.
New in Delphos? 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 $8.06 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Delphos cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $536K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $536K 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 3,756 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delphos | Delphos Public Library fine-free | — | 48 | A− |
| Jennings Township | Fort Jennings Branch fine-free | — | 19 | B+ |
| Marion 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. Delphos Public Library serves 9,903 people in and around Delphos, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Delphos.
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 Delphos
Does Delphos have a public library?
Yes. Delphos Public Library, 309 W. 2nd St., serves 9,903 people in and around Delphos (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Delphos 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 Delphos’ library?
It logged 6.8 visits and lent 29.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Delphos’ civic life grade?
A− Delphos is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on civic life, #252 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 Delphos.
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.