Liberty Township’s library runs 241 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Liberty Center Public Library serves 5,551 people in and around Liberty Township. Last year it lent 32K books, movies and e-books and logged 17K visits.
The short version on Liberty Township’s library
Seven times the programs of a typical library its size
Liberty Center Public Library ran 1,340 programs last year, about 26 a week. That’s 241 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Ohio pays a big share
43% of the budget comes from the state, and 42% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
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; Liberty Center Public Library serves 5,551 people in and around Liberty Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Liberty Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Liberty Township is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns. Liberty Township 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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Liberty Township
5.3 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
15.9%
15.9% of Liberty 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 Liberty Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 10 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 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Liberty Center Public Library serves 5,551 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Liberty Center Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
32K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
5,772 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Liberty Center Public Library, 124 East St., Liberty Center.
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 Liberty Center Public Library branch.
New in Liberty 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 $1.41 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Liberty Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $381K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $537K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $381K 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 1,798 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty Township | Liberty Center Public Library fine-free | — | 50 | A |
| Napoleon Township | Napoleon Public Library fine-free | — | 48 | — graded with its twin city |
| York Township | Delta Public Library | — | 50 | A− |
| Napoleon | Napoleon Public Library fine-free | — | 48 | A+ |
| Harrison Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Washington 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. Liberty Center Public Library serves 5,551 people in and around Liberty Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Liberty Township.
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 Liberty Township
Does Liberty Township have a public library?
Yes. Liberty Center Public Library, 124 East St., serves 5,551 people in and around Liberty Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Liberty Center 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 Liberty Township’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 5.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Liberty Township’s civic life grade?
A Liberty Township is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Liberty 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.