First Congregational Church · Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Marblehead’s library is a branch of Ida Rupp Public Library, which lends more per resident than 80% of systems its size
Marblehead’s library is the Marblehead Peninsula Branch Library, a branch of Ida Rupp Public Library, which serves 18,955 people and lent 189K items last year.
Marblehead’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
36% of the budget comes from the state, and 52% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A well-funded system
The Ida Rupp Public Library system spends $145 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
55% of the 627 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 164 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.7 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. It’s 27% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
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; Marblehead’s library is a branch of Ida Rupp Public Library, so they cover the whole system (18,955 people), not just the Marblehead branch.
What’s behind Marblehead’s civic life grade
Marblehead 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 →
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.10 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Marblehead cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.8M 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 8,866 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Ida Rupp Public Library serves 18,955 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Ida Rupp Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
189K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
51,245 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Marblehead Peninsula Branch Library, 710 W. Main Street, Marblehead.
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 Ida Rupp Public Library branch.
New in Marblehead? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Marblehead Peninsula Branch Library is one branch of Ida Rupp Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 18,955 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 Marblehead
Does Marblehead have a public library?
Yes: Marblehead Peninsula Branch Library, 710 W. Main Street, is a branch of Ida Rupp Public Library, which serves 18,955 people. The branch is open about 23 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ida Rupp 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 Marblehead’s library?
It logged 4.2 visits and lent 9.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Marblehead’s civic life grade?
Marblehead 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 Marblehead.
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.