Photo: Nyttend · Public domainJefferson Township’s library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Dr. Earl S. Sloan Library serves 194 people in and around Jefferson Township. Last year it lent 2,191 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,756 visits.
What Jefferson Township’s library is like
More library cards than residents
234 cards for 194 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Jefferson Township uses its library more than almost any town its size
Dr. Earl S. Sloan Library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Dr. Earl S. Sloan Library serves 194 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 30 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 ↓
Jefferson Township invests in its library
Dr. Earl S. Sloan Library spends $468 per resident a year, about nine times the typical $54 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 44% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Jefferson Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Jefferson Township is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns, #646 of 914 in Ohio. Jefferson Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($69K–$114K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Jefferson Township
3.3 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.3%
7.3% of Jefferson 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 Jefferson Township’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Dr. Earl S. Sloan Library serves 194 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2,191 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
25 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, 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
Dr. Earl S. Sloan Library, 2817 Sandusky St., Zanesfield.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting.
New in Jefferson Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Jefferson Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $91K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $33K 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 234 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Township | Dr. Earl S. Sloan Library fine-free | 11.3 | 30 | C+ |
| Lake Township | Logan County District Library fine-free | — | 58 | A− |
| Rushcreek Township | Rushsylvania Branch Library fine-free | — | 16 | B− |
| Liberty Township | West Liberty Branch Library fine-free | — | 28 | A− |
| Monroe Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Perry 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.
- 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 Jefferson Township
Does Jefferson Township have a public library?
Yes. Dr. Earl S. Sloan Library, 2817 Sandusky St., serves 194 people in and around Jefferson Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dr. Earl S. Sloan Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Jefferson Township’s library?
It logged 14.2 visits and lent 11.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Jefferson Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Jefferson Township is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns on civic life, #646 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 Jefferson 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.