Jamestown Opera House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainJamestown’s library is a branch of Greene County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 97% of systems its size
Jamestown’s library is the Jamestown Branch Library, a branch of Greene County Public Library, which serves 167,966 people and lent 2.8M items last year.
The short version on Jamestown’s library
A system of heavy borrowers
The Greene County Public Library system lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 97% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Ohio pays a big share
41% of the budget comes from the state, and 54% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 47% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 5.1 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. It’s 30% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
The Greene County Public Library system ran 4,062 programs last year, about 78 a week. That’s 24 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 84,000 attended. 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; Jamestown’s library is a branch of Greene County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (167,966 people), not just the Jamestown branch.
What’s behind Jamestown’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Jamestown is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns. Jamestown is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Jamestown’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 Jamestown
2.5 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.5%
11.5% of Jamestown’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 Jamestown’s residents live; 2022.
About 30 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 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Greene County Public Library serves 167,966 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 126 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Greene County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
2.8M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
858,543 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Jamestown Branch Library, 86 Seaman Dr, Jamestown.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Greene County Public Library branch.
New in Jamestown? 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 $3.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Jamestown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $14M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $43M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $14M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 104,676 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Jamestown Branch Library is one branch of Greene County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 167,966 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 Jamestown
Does Jamestown have a public library?
Yes: Jamestown Branch Library, 86 Seaman Dr, is a branch of Greene County Public Library, which serves 167,966 people. The branch is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Greene County Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Jamestown’s library?
It logged 2.5 visits and lent 16.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Jamestown’s civic life grade?
B Jamestown is ahead of 58% 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 Jamestown.
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.