Photo: Catsmeowmeow · CC BY-SA 4.0Lakewood’s library lends 19 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Lakewood Public Library serves 50,852 people in and around Lakewood from 2 locations. Last year it lent 1.2M books, movies and e-books and logged 411K visits.
What Lakewood’s library is like
One of the busiest library systems its size
Lakewood Public Library logs 8.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 19 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More library cards than residents
54,992 cards for 50,852 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
Ohio pays a big share
45% of the budget comes from the state, and 44% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Programs draw a crowd
89,000 people came to the system’s 1,716 programs last year: 1.8 per resident, against a typical 0.3, more than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 28% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% 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; Lakewood Public Library serves 50,852 people in and around Lakewood, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Lakewood’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Lakewood is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #218 of 914 in Ohio. Library visits hold the grade up; Lakewood’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
158 community nonprofits are registered in Lakewood
3.2 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 (35 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.5%
10.5% of Lakewood’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 Lakewood’s residents live; 2022.
About 22 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.
Lakewood Public Library serves 50,852 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 167 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lakewood Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1.2M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
194,590 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Lakewood
Lakewood Public Library, 15425 Detroit Avenue, Lakewood.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Lakewood Public Library branch.
New in Lakewood? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Lakewood Public Library branches in Lakewood
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $4.62 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lakewood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $19M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.2M 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 54,992 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakewood | Lakewood Public Library fine-free | — | 72 | A− |
| Cleveland | Cleveland Public Library fine-free | — | 48 | C+ |
| Rocky River | Rocky River Public Library fine-free | — | 66 | A− |
| Fairview Park | Fairview Park Branch Library fine-free | — | 67 | B− |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Lakewood Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- System-wide. Lakewood Public Library serves 50,852 people in and around Lakewood, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Lakewood.
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 Lakewood
Does Lakewood have a public library?
Yes. Lakewood Public Library, 15425 Detroit Avenue, serves 50,852 people in and around Lakewood (the survey’s count) and is open about 72 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lakewood 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 Lakewood’s library?
It logged 8.1 visits and lent 23.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Lakewood’s civic life grade?
A− Lakewood is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on civic life, #218 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 Lakewood.
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.