Photo: Nyttend · Public domainGerman Township’s library runs 73 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Germantown Public Library serves 10,975 people in and around German Township. Last year it lent 134K print books and media and logged 52K visits.
The short version on German Township’s library
Ohio pays a big share
92% of the budget comes from the state, and 0% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Germantown Public Library ran 796 programs last year, about 15 a week. That’s 73 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 16,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 54% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
Germantown Public Library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 94% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
Germantown Public Library spends $86 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. 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; Germantown Public Library serves 10,975 people in and around German Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind German Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, German Township is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #323 of 914 in Ohio. German Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
35 community nonprofits are registered in German Township
4.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (11 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.
9.3%
9.3% of German Township’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 German Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 8 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 all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Germantown Public Library serves 10,975 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 43 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Germantown Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
134K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Germantown Public Library, 51 N. Plum St., Germantown.
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 Germantown Public Library branch.
New in German Township? 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 $2.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average German Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $947K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $947K 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 5,452 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gratis Township | Marion Lawrence Memorial Library fine-free | 7.2 | 32 | B+ |
| German Township | Germantown Public Library fine-free | — | 60 | B+ |
| Miami Township | Miami Township Branch fine-free | — | 59 | B− |
| Madison Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Jackson Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Carlisle | None of its own | — | — | C− |
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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Germantown Public Library serves 10,975 people in and around German Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just German Township.
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 German Township
Does German Township have a public library?
Yes. Germantown Public Library, 51 N. Plum St., serves 10,975 people in and around German Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Germantown 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 German Township’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 12.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is German Township’s civic life grade?
B+ German Township is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on civic life, #323 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 German Township.
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.