Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHicksville’s library is a branch of Defiance Public Library, which lends more per resident than 81% of systems its size
Hicksville’s library is the Johnson Memorial Branch Library, a branch of Defiance Public Library, which serves 38,286 people and lent 374K items last year.
What Hicksville’s library is like
Ohio pays a big share
65% of the budget comes from the state, and 25% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 68% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
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; Hicksville’s library is a branch of Defiance Public Library, so they cover the whole system (38,286 people), not just the Hicksville branch.
What’s behind Hicksville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hicksville is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #132 of 914 in Ohio. Hicksville is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Hicksville’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 →
31 community nonprofits are registered in Hicksville
9.8 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.
7.9%
7.9% of Hicksville’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 Hicksville’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 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 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Defiance Public Library serves 38,286 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 62 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Defiance Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
374K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
82,908 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Johnson Memorial Branch Library, 116 W. High St., Hicksville.
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 Defiance Public Library branch.
New in Hicksville? 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 $2.32 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hicksville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.4M 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 14,347 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Johnson Memorial Branch Library is one branch of Defiance Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 38,286 people it serves.
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 Hicksville
Does Hicksville have a public library?
Yes: Johnson Memorial Branch Library, 116 W. High St., is a branch of Defiance Public Library, which serves 38,286 people. The branch is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Defiance 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 Hicksville’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 9.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Hicksville’s civic life grade?
A Hicksville is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on civic life, #132 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 Hicksville.
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.