Photo: Public domain · Public domainLondon’s library logs 8.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
London Public Library serves 14,421 people in and around London. Last year it lent 151K books, movies and e-books and logged 118K visits.
London’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
52% of the budget comes from the state, and 37% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
London Public Library logs 8.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 94% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 8.2 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
82% of the people it serves carry a library card
11,897 cards for 14,421 people, or 82%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
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; London Public Library serves 14,421 people in and around London, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind London’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, London is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns, #644 of 914 in Ohio. London is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; London’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($45K–$75K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
38 community nonprofits are registered in London
3.6 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.9%
6.9% of London’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 London’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 49 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole London Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
London Public Library serves 14,421 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
151K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
32,730 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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
London Public Library, 20 E First St., London.
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 London Public Library branch.
New in London? 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 $2.57 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average London cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $920K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $920K 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 11,897 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | London Public Library fine-free | — | 59 | C+ |
| Union Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Deer Creek Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. London Public Library serves 14,421 people in and around London, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just London.
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 London
Does London have a public library?
Yes. London Public Library, 20 E First St., serves 14,421 people in and around London (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is London 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 London’s library?
It logged 8.2 visits and lent 10.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is London’s civic life grade?
C+ London is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns on civic life, #644 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 London.
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.