Photo: Kurt Tarvis · CC BY 4.0Gallipolis’ library runs 18 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Dr. Samuel L. Bossard Memorial Library serves 29,220 people in and around Gallipolis. Last year it lent 146K books, movies and e-books and logged 86K visits.
The short version on Gallipolis’s library
Ohio pays a big share
51% of the budget comes from the state, and 39% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Programs draw a crowd
34,000 people came to the system’s 531 programs last year: 1.2 per resident, against a typical 0.3, more than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 67 hours a week
The Gallipolis branch is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
Programs lean toward adults
52% of the 531 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 201 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
76% of the people it serves carry a library card
22,154 cards for 29,220 people, or 76%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
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; Dr. Samuel L. Bossard Memorial Library serves 29,220 people in and around Gallipolis, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Gallipolis’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Gallipolis is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #28 of 914 in Ohio. Gallipolis is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Gallipolis’ 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 →
23 community nonprofits are registered in Gallipolis
7.4 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.7%
11.7% of Gallipolis’ 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 Gallipolis’ residents live; 2022.
About 4 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 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Dr. Samuel L. Bossard Memorial Library serves 29,220 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 42 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Dr. Samuel L. Bossard Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
146K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
48,328 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Dr. Samuel L. Bossard Memorial Library, 7 Spruce St., Gallipolis.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Dr. Samuel L. Bossard Memorial Library branch.
New in Gallipolis? 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 $1.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gallipolis cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2M 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 22,154 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallipolis | Dr. Samuel L. Bossard Memorial Library | — | 67 | A+ |
| Gallipolis Township | Dr. Samuel L. Bossard Memorial Library | — | 67 | A+ |
| Kanauga | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Dr. Samuel L. Bossard Memorial Library serves 29,220 people in and around Gallipolis, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Gallipolis.
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 Gallipolis
Does Gallipolis have a public library?
Yes. Dr. Samuel L. Bossard Memorial Library, 7 Spruce St., serves 29,220 people in and around Gallipolis (the survey’s count) and is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dr. Samuel L. Bossard Memorial 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 Gallipolis’ library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 5.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Gallipolis’ civic life grade?
A+ Gallipolis is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on civic life, #28 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 Gallipolis.
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.