Photo: Art Anderson · CC BY-SA 3.0Kenton’s library runs 83 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Mary Lou Johnson-Hardin Cnty Pl serves 11,458 people in and around Kenton. Last year it lent 90K books, movies and e-books and logged 55K visits.
The short version on Kenton’s library
More library cards than residents
14,107 cards for 11,458 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Mary Lou Johnson-Hardin Cnty Pl ran 946 programs last year, about 18 a week. That’s 83 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
32% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 0%. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
50% of the 946 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 437 were for children. 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; Mary Lou Johnson-Hardin Cnty Pl serves 11,458 people in and around Kenton, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Kenton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Kenton is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #4 of 914 in Ohio. Kenton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Kenton near the top nationally; Kenton’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 →
84 community nonprofits are registered in Kenton
11.0 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 (20 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
15.1%
15.1% of Kenton’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 Kenton’s residents live; 2022.
About 8 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 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Mary Lou Johnson-Hardin Cnty Pl serves 11,458 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mary Lou Johnson-Hardin Cnty Pl system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
90K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
18,141 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Mary Lou Johnson-Hardin Cnty Pl, 325 E. Columbus St., Kenton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Mary Lou Johnson-Hardin Cnty Pl branch.
New in Kenton? 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 $2.29 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kenton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $698K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $698K 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 14,107 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenton | Mary Lou Johnson-Hardin Cnty Pl | — | 60 | A+ |
| Pleasant Township | Mary Lou Johnson-Hardin Cnty Pl | — | 60 | A+ |
| Buck Township | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
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. Mary Lou Johnson-Hardin Cnty Pl serves 11,458 people in and around Kenton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Kenton.
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 Kenton
Does Kenton have a public library?
Yes. Mary Lou Johnson-Hardin Cnty Pl, 325 E. Columbus St., serves 11,458 people in and around Kenton (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mary Lou Johnson-Hardin Cnty Pl 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 Kenton’s library?
It logged 4.8 visits and lent 7.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Kenton’s civic life grade?
A+ Kenton is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #4 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 Kenton.
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.