Photo: Slone.132 · CC BY-SA 4.0Lincoln Village’s library is a branch of Southwest Public Libraries, which lends more per resident than 76% of systems its size
Lincoln Village’s library is the Westland Area Branch, a branch of Southwest Public Libraries, which serves 147,074 people and lent 1.1M items last year.
Lincoln Village’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
61% of the budget comes from the state, and 33% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Southwest Public Libraries system offered 705 programs last year, 4.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. 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; Lincoln Village’s library is a branch of Southwest Public Libraries, so they cover the whole system (147,074 people), not just the Lincoln Village branch.
What’s behind Lincoln Village’s civic life grade
Lincoln Village isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Southwest Public Libraries, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 →
Volunteering in Lincoln Village
Lincoln Village is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
5.7%
5.7% of Lincoln Village’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 Lincoln Village’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Southwest Public Libraries serves 147,074 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 179 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Southwest Public Libraries system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1.1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
281,698 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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
Westland Area Branch, 4740 W. Broad St., Columbus.
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 Southwest Public Libraries branch.
New in Lincoln Village? 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 $2.31 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lincoln Village cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $7.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $17M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $7.4M 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 63,813 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Village | Westland Area Branch fine-free | — | 60 | — unincorporated |
| Prairie Township | Westland Area Branch fine-free | — | 60 | D |
| Franklin Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
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. Westland Area Branch is one branch of Southwest Public Libraries, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 147,074 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 Lincoln Village
Does Lincoln Village have a public library?
Yes: Westland Area Branch, 4740 W. Broad St., is a branch of Southwest Public Libraries, which serves 147,074 people. The branch is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Southwest Public Libraries 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 Lincoln Village’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 7.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Lincoln Village’s civic life grade?
Lincoln Village isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Southwest Public Libraries, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Lincoln Village.
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.