Photo: South_Union_Mennonite_Church_near_West_Liberty.jpg: Nyttend derivative work: . . . . Jim . . . . Jameslwoodward (talk • contribs) · Public domainLiberty Township’s library is a branch of Logan County District Library, which lends more per resident than 76% of systems its size
Liberty Township’s library is the West Liberty Branch Library, a branch of Logan County District Library, which serves 31,399 people and lent 288K items last year.
The short version on Liberty Township’s library
Ohio pays a big share
94% of the budget comes from the state, and 0% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
The Logan County District Library system ran 1,241 programs last year, about 24 a week. That’s 40 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 26,000 attended. 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; Liberty Township’s library is a branch of Logan County District Library, so they cover the whole system (31,399 people), not just the Liberty Township branch.
What’s behind Liberty Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Liberty Township is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #148 of 914 in Ohio. 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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in Liberty Township
5.2 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.6%
9.6% 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 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Logan County District Library serves 31,399 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 38 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Logan County District Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
288K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
74,026 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 Liberty Branch Library, 117 N Detroit St., West Liberty.
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 Logan County District 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 $2.72 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: $40. Operating budget $1.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.7M 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 13,039 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Township | Dr. Earl S. Sloan Library fine-free | 11.3 | 30 | C+ |
| Liberty Township | West Liberty Branch Library fine-free | — | 28 | A− |
| Lake Township | Logan County District Library fine-free | — | 58 | A− |
| Monroe Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Union Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Harrison Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Harrison Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Salem Township | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- System-wide. West Liberty Branch Library is one branch of Logan County District Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 31,399 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 Liberty Township
Does Liberty Township have a public library?
Yes: West Liberty Branch Library, 117 N Detroit St., is a branch of Logan County District Library, which serves 31,399 people. The branch is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Logan 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 Liberty Township’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 9.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Liberty Township’s civic life grade?
A− Liberty Township is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life, #148 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 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.