Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHale Township’s library lends 5.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Ridgemont Public Library serves 3,469 people in and around Hale Township from 2 locations. Last year it lent 21K books, movies and e-books and logged 8,476 visits.
Hale Township’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
78% of the budget comes from the state, and 10% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 67% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 82% 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; Ridgemont Public Library serves 3,469 people in and around Hale Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Hale Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hale Township is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns. Hale 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Hale Township
4.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
17.7%
17.7% of Hale 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 Hale Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 1 kids’ program 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 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Ridgemont Public Library serves 3,469 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Ridgemont Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
21K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,546 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 Hale Township
Ridgemont Public Library, 124 E. Taylor St., Mt. Victory.
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 Ridgemont Public Library branch.
New in Hale Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Ridgemont Public Library branches in Hale Township
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.71 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hale Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $196K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $336K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $196K 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 870 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hale Township | Ridgemont Public Library fine-free | — | 34 | A |
| Bokescreek Township | West Mansfield Branch Library fine-free | — | 16 | B+ |
| Ridgeway | Ridgeway Branch fine-free | — | 22 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Buck Township | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Taylor Creek Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Bowling Green Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Dudley Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Washington Township | 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. Ridgemont Public Library serves 3,469 people in and around Hale Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Hale 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 Hale Township
Does Hale Township have a public library?
Yes. Ridgemont Public Library, 124 E. Taylor St., serves 3,469 people in and around Hale Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ridgemont 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 Hale Township’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 6.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hale Township’s civic life grade?
A Hale Township is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Hale 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.