Shuey's Mill · Photo: Pjsham · CC BY-SA 3.0Germantown’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 Germantown. Last year it lent 134K print books and media and logged 52K visits.
Germantown’s library, in brief
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 Germantown, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Germantown’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Germantown is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #114 of 914 in Ohio. Germantown is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Germantown’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 →
35 community nonprofits are registered in Germantown
6.0 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 (10 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 Germantown’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 Germantown’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 Germantown? 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 Germantown 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.
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 Germantown, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Germantown.
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 Germantown
Does Germantown have a public library?
Yes. Germantown Public Library, 51 N. Plum St., serves 10,975 people in and around Germantown (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 Germantown’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 Germantown’s civic life grade?
A Germantown is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on civic life, #114 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 Germantown.
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.