Photo: Nyttend · Public domainElyria’s library lends 8.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Elyria Public Library serves 62,006 people in and around Elyria from 3 locations. Last year it lent 685K books, movies and e-books and logged 193K visits.
Elyria’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
33% of the budget comes from the state, and 49% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.8 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. It’s 25% 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; Elyria Public Library serves 62,006 people in and around Elyria, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Elyria’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Elyria is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns, #699 of 914 in Ohio. Elyria is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Elyria’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($41K–$69K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
180 community nonprofits are registered in Elyria
3.4 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 (66 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 10 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.7%
6.7% of Elyria’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 Elyria’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
685K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
171,020 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 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Elyria Public Library serves 62,006 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 54 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Elyria Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 17 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.
3 places to borrow in Elyria
Elyria Public Library, 211 Second St., Elyria.
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 Elyria Public Library branch.
New in Elyria? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Elyria Public Library branches in Elyria
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.32 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elyria cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.7M 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 26,150 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elyria | Elyria Public Library fine-free | — | 60 | C |
| North Ridgeville | North Ridgeville fine-free | — | 61 | B |
| Carlisle Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Elyria Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Eaton Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Amherst Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Sheffield | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Sheffield Township | None of its own | — | — | D− |
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. Elyria Public Library serves 62,006 people in and around Elyria, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Elyria.
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 Elyria
Does Elyria have a public library?
Yes. Elyria Public Library, 211 Second St., serves 62,006 people in and around Elyria (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Elyria 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 Elyria’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 11.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Elyria’s civic life grade?
C Elyria is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns on civic life, #699 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 Elyria.
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.