Photo: Nyttend · Public domainLafayette Township’s library is a branch of Coshocton County District Library, which lends more per resident than 79% of systems its size
Lafayette Township’s library is the West Lafayette Branch Library, a branch of Coshocton County District Library, which serves 33,676 people and lent 312K items last year.
Lafayette Township’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
75% of the budget comes from the state, and 19% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Coshocton County District Library system is above the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, with four in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
79% of the 738 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 8.8 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Lafayette Township’s library is a branch of Coshocton County District Library, so they cover the whole system (33,676 people), not just the Lafayette Township branch.
What’s behind Lafayette Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lafayette Township is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #542 of 914 in Ohio. Lafayette Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Lafayette Township’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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in Lafayette Township
3.8 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.6%
7.6% of Lafayette 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 Lafayette Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 11 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 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Coshocton County District Library serves 33,676 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 50 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Coshocton County District Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
312K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
64,744 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
West Lafayette Branch Library, 601 E Main St., West Lafayette.
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 Coshocton County District Library branch.
New in Lafayette Township? 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 $2.98 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lafayette Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M 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 13,351 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lafayette Township | West Lafayette Branch Library fine-free | — | 46 | B− |
| Oxford Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| White Eyes Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Tuscarawas Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Linton 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.
- System-wide. West Lafayette Branch Library is one branch of Coshocton County District Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 33,676 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 Lafayette Township
Does Lafayette Township have a public library?
Yes: West Lafayette Branch Library, 601 E Main St., is a branch of Coshocton County District Library, which serves 33,676 people. The branch is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Coshocton County District 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 Lafayette Township’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 9.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Lafayette Township’s civic life grade?
B− Lafayette Township is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on civic life, #542 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 Lafayette 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.