Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHarrison Township’s library lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
New Madison Public Library serves 4,137 people in and around Harrison Township. Last year it lent 72K books, movies and e-books and logged 6,500 visits.
The short version on Harrison Township’s library
Ohio pays a big share
67% of the budget comes from the state, and 21% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 76%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 41% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
New Madison Public Library spends $99 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; New Madison Public Library serves 4,137 people in and around Harrison Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Harrison Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Harrison Township is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns. Harrison Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Harrison Township’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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Harrison Township
5.7 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.8%
8.8% of Harrison 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 Harrison Township’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
72K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
8,992 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
New Madison Public Library serves 4,137 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 26 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole New Madison Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 2 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.
Find it
New Madison Public Library, 142 S. Main St., New Madison.
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 New Madison Public Library branch.
New in Harrison 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 $2.80 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Harrison Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $408K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $408K 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 1,744 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrison Township | New Madison Public Library fine-free | — | 54 | A− |
| Jefferson Township | New Paris Branch Library fine-free | — | 28 | B− |
| Liberty Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Butler Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Franklin Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
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. New Madison Public Library serves 4,137 people in and around Harrison Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Harrison 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 Harrison Township
Does Harrison Township have a public library?
Yes. New Madison Public Library, 142 S. Main St., serves 4,137 people in and around Harrison Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New Madison 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 Harrison Township’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 17.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Harrison Township’s civic life grade?
A− Harrison Township is ahead of 82% 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 Harrison 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.