Meigs Township’s library is a branch of Adams County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 82% of systems its size
Meigs Township’s library is the Peebles Public Library, a branch of Adams County Public Library, which serves 27,477 people and lent 283K items last year.
What Meigs Township’s library is like
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; Meigs Township’s library is a branch of Adams County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (27,477 people), not just the Meigs Township branch.
What’s behind Meigs Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Meigs Township is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns, #774 of 914 in Ohio. Meigs Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Meigs Township’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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Meigs Township
3.1 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.4%
6.4% of Meigs Township’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 Meigs Township’s residents live; 2022.
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
Peebles Public Library, 157 High St., Peebles.
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 Meigs 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 Meigs 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meigs Township | Peebles Public Library fine-free | — | 50 | C− |
| Scott Township | North Adams Public Library fine-free | — | 50 | A |
| Tiffin Township | West Union Public Library fine-free | — | 50 | A− |
| Oliver Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Franklin Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Bratton Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Jefferson 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. Peebles 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 Meigs Township
Does Meigs Township have a public library?
Yes: Peebles Public Library, 157 High 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 Meigs 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 Meigs Township’s civic life grade?
C− Meigs Township is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns on civic life, #774 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 Meigs 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.