Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMason’s library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Mason Public Library serves 75,139 people in and around Mason. Last year it lent 1.1M books, movies and e-books and logged 52K visits.
The short version on Mason’s library
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 95%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Open only about 13 hours a week
Mason Public Library keeps short hours: about 13 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Lebanon Public Library in Lebanon, next door, is open about 58 hours a week. The building ↓
Ohio pays a big share
43% of the budget comes from the state, and 37% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Nearly everyone in Mason has a card
70,970 cards for 75,139 people, or 94%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
77% of the 961 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 9.5 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.
What’s behind Mason’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Mason is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #213 of 914 in Ohio. Mason is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Mason’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
210 community nonprofits are registered in Mason
5.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (51 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 10 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.3%
8.3% of Mason’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 Mason’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1.1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
163,829 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Mason Public Library serves 75,139 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1627 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
About 14 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, 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
Mason Public Library, 200 Reading Rd., Mason.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Mason? 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 $6.70 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mason cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $17M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.6M 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 70,970 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason | Mason Public Library fine-free | 14.5 | 13 | A− |
| Lebanon | Lebanon Public Library | — | 58 | A |
| Deerfield Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Union Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Kings Mills | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Turtlecreek Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Landen | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Hamilton Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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.
- Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 Mason
Does Mason have a public library?
Yes. Mason Public Library, 200 Reading Rd., serves 75,139 people in and around Mason (the survey’s count) and is open about 13 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mason 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 Mason’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 14.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Mason’s civic life grade?
A− Mason is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on civic life, #213 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 Mason.
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.