Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Manchester Township’s library is a branch of Adams County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 82% of systems its size
Manchester Township’s library is the Manchester Public Library, a branch of Adams County Public Library, which serves 27,477 people and lent 283K items last year.
The short version on Manchester Township’s library
Ohio pays a big share
65% of the budget comes from the state, and 28% 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 Adams County Public Library system ran 1,120 programs last year, about 22 a week. That’s 41 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
69% of the 1,120 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 6 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Manchester Township’s library is a branch of Adams County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (27,477 people), not just the Manchester Township branch.
What’s behind Manchester Township’s civic life grade
Manchester Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
About 15 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.
Adams County Public Library serves 27,477 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Adams County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
283K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
66,730 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Manchester Public Library, 401 Pike St., Manchester.
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 Adams County Public Library branch.
New in Manchester 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 $2.66 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Manchester Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.9M 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 9,767 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester Township | Manchester Public Library fine-free | — | 50 | — graded with its twin city |
| Manchester | Manchester Public Library fine-free | — | 50 | C+ |
| Monroe Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sprigg 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. Manchester Public Library is one branch of Adams County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 27,477 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 Manchester Township
Does Manchester Township have a public library?
Yes: Manchester Public Library, 401 Pike St., is a branch of Adams County Public Library, which serves 27,477 people. The branch is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Adams County 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 Manchester Township’s library?
It logged 3.3 visits and lent 10.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Manchester Township’s civic life grade?
Manchester Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Manchester 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.