Photo: Bwsmith84 · CC BY 3.0Dennison’s library is a branch of Claymont School District Public Library, which lends more per resident than 85% of systems its size
Dennison’s library is the Dennison Branch Library, a branch of Claymont School District Public Library, which serves 11,834 people and lent 107K items last year.
The short version on Dennison’s library
Ohio pays a big share
98% of the budget comes from the state, and 0% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 93%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Open only about 18 hours a week
The Dennison branch keeps short hours: about 18 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 7% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 69% 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; Dennison’s library is a branch of Claymont School District Public Library, so they cover the whole system (11,834 people), not just the Dennison branch.
What’s behind Dennison’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Dennison is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #56 of 914 in Ohio. Dennison is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Dennison’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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Dennison
7.4 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.8%
9.8% of Dennison’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 Dennison’s residents live; 2022.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
107K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
7,556 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Claymont School District Public Library serves 11,834 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 37 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Claymont School District Public Library system. The library’s own count.
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.
Find it
Dennison Branch Library, 15 N. 4th Street, Dennison.
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 Claymont School District Public Library branch.
New in Dennison? 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 $5.13 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dennison cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $316K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $316K 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 2,187 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennison | Dennison Branch Library fine-free | — | 18 | A |
| Uhrichsville | Claymont School District Public Library fine-free | — | 38 | A− |
| Mill Township | Claymont School District Public Library fine-free | — | 38 | C+ |
| Union 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. Dennison Branch Library is one branch of Claymont School District Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 11,834 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 Dennison
Does Dennison have a public library?
Yes: Dennison Branch Library, 15 N. 4th Street, is a branch of Claymont School District Public Library, which serves 11,834 people. The branch is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Claymont School 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 Dennison’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 9.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Dennison’s civic life grade?
A Dennison is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #56 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 Dennison.
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.