Photo: Roseohioresident · CC BY-SA 4.0LaGrange’s library is a branch of Elyria Public Library, which lends more per resident than 84% of systems its size
LaGrange’s library is the Keystone-Lagrange Community Library, a branch of Elyria Public Library, which serves 62,006 people and lent 685K items last year.
What LaGrange’s library is like
Ohio pays a big share
33% of the budget comes from the state, and 49% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.8 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. It’s 25% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
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; LaGrange’s library is a branch of Elyria Public Library, so they cover the whole system (62,006 people), not just the LaGrange branch.
What’s behind LaGrange’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, LaGrange is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #256 of 914 in Ohio. LaGrange is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in LaGrange
4.3 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.6%
9.6% of LaGrange’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 LaGrange’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
685K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
171,020 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Elyria Public Library serves 62,006 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 54 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Elyria Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 17 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.
Find it
Keystone-Lagrange Community Library, 133 E. Commerce St., Lagrange.
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 Elyria Public Library branch.
New in LaGrange? 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 $2.32 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average LaGrange cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.7M 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 26,150 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Keystone-Lagrange Community Library is one branch of Elyria Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 62,006 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 LaGrange
Does LaGrange have a public library?
Yes: Keystone-Lagrange Community Library, 133 E. Commerce St., is a branch of Elyria Public Library, which serves 62,006 people. The branch is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Elyria Public 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 LaGrange’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 11.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is LaGrange’s civic life grade?
A− LaGrange is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on civic life, #256 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 LaGrange.
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.