Photo: Nyttend · Public domainGratis Township’s library logs 8.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Marion Lawrence Memorial Library serves 844 people in and around Gratis Township. Last year it lent 6,043 books, movies and e-books and logged 6,916 visits.
Gratis Township’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
92% of the budget comes from the state, and 7% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Marion Lawrence Memorial Library serves 844 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 32 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 67% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Marion Lawrence Memorial Library holds 21,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 5% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 70% 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Gratis Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Gratis Township is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #370 of 914 in Ohio. Gratis 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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in Gratis Township
3.8 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.3%
9.3% of Gratis 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 Gratis Township’s residents live; 2022.
19 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Marion Lawrence Memorial Library serves 844 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
6,043 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 21K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
303 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Gratis Township
Marion Lawrence Memorial Library, 15 E. Franklin Street, Gratis.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Gratis Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Gratis Township
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gratis Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $91K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $95K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $91K 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 249 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+ |
| Gratis | Marion Lawrence Memorial Library fine-free | 7.2 | 32 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Somers Township | Camden Branch Library fine-free | — | 38 | A |
| German Township | Germantown Public Library fine-free | — | 60 | B+ |
| Lanier Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Wayne Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Madison 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Gratis Township
Does Gratis Township have a public library?
Yes. Marion Lawrence Memorial Library, 15 E. Franklin Street, serves 844 people in and around Gratis Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Marion Lawrence Memorial 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 Gratis Township’s library?
It logged 8.2 visits and lent 7.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Gratis Township’s civic life grade?
B+ Gratis Township is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on civic life, #370 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 Gratis 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.