William H. Grant House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMiddleport’s library is a branch of Meigs County District Public Library, which lends more per resident than 59% of systems its size
Middleport’s library is the Middleport Branch, a branch of Meigs County District Public Library, which serves 22,210 people and lent 152K items last year.
The short version on Middleport’s library
More library cards than residents
28,803 cards for 22,210 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
Ohio pays a big share
61% of the budget comes from the state, and 28% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Middleport Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1986. Today’s library there has 3,000 square feet. The building ↓
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; Middleport’s library is a branch of Meigs County District Public Library, so they cover the whole system (22,210 people), not just the Middleport branch.
What’s behind Middleport’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Middleport is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns. Middleport is graded on two of the three inputs. Middleport’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Middleport
6.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.9%
4.9% of Middleport’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 Middleport’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Meigs County District Public Library serves 22,210 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Meigs County District Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
152K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
47,091 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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.
A National Register landmark since 1986
Middleport Branch, 178 S. Third Ave., Middleport.
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 Meigs County District Public Library branch.
New in Middleport? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Middleport Public Library
Middleport Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan 6, 1986. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Georgian Revival.
The Middleport Public Library is a historic Carnegie library in the Ohio River village of Middleport, Ohio, United States. Built in the early twentieth century, it has been named a historic site.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.99 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Middleport cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.3M 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 28,803 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middleport | Middleport Branch fine-free | — | 48 | C+ |
| Salisbury Township | Meigs County District Public Library fine-free | — | 67 | B− |
| Pomeroy | Meigs County District Public Library fine-free | — | 67 | 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. Middleport Branch is one branch of Meigs County District Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 22,210 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 Middleport
Does Middleport have a public library?
Yes: Middleport Branch, 178 S. Third Ave., is a branch of Meigs County District Public Library, which serves 22,210 people. The branch is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Meigs County District 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 Middleport’s library?
It logged 5.7 visits and lent 6.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Middleport’s civic life grade?
C+ Middleport is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Middleport.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.