Photo: OZinOH on Flickr · CC BY 2.0Jefferson’s library lends 20 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Henderson Memorial Public Library Association serves 5,317 people in and around Jefferson. Last year it lent 132K books, movies and e-books and logged 54K visits.
Jefferson’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
62% of the budget comes from the state, and 27% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Jefferson uses its library more than almost any town its size
Henderson Memorial Public Library Association logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 20 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 94% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 38% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.7 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. It’s 19% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Programs draw a crowd
17,000 people came to the library’s 492 programs last year: 3.1 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 99% 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.
What’s behind Jefferson’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Jefferson is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #141 of 914 in Ohio. Jefferson is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Jefferson’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 →
25 community nonprofits are registered in Jefferson
7.2 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.3%
8.3% of Jefferson’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’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Henderson Memorial Public Library Association serves 5,317 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 45 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
132K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 54K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2 times last year, on average.
25,103 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Henderson Memorial Public Library Association, 54 E. Jefferson St., Jefferson.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Jefferson? 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 $3.89 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Jefferson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $559K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $559K 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 4,783 cardholders ÷ 12.
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
Does Jefferson have a public library?
Yes. Henderson Memorial Public Library Association, 54 E. Jefferson St., serves 5,317 people in and around Jefferson (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Henderson Memorial Public Library Association 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 Jefferson’s library?
It logged 10.1 visits and lent 24.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Jefferson’s civic life grade?
A− Jefferson is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life, #141 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.
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.