Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 3.0Milan’s library is a branch of Milan-Berlin Library District, which lends more per resident than 93% of systems its size
Milan’s library is the Milan Public Library, a branch of Milan-Berlin Library District, which serves 9,249 people and lent 129K items last year.
The short version on Milan’s library
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 67%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Ohio pays a big share
42% of the budget comes from the state, and 44% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 46% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.1 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. It’s 23% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
The Milan-Berlin Library District system spends $108 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
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; Milan’s library is a branch of Milan-Berlin Library District, so they cover the whole system (9,249 people), not just the Milan branch.
What’s behind Milan’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Milan is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns. Milan is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Milan’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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Milan
5.8 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.7%
9.7% of Milan’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 Milan’s residents live; 2022.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
129K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
29,031 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 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Milan-Berlin Library District serves 9,249 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 39 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Milan-Berlin Library District system. The library’s own count.
About 5 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
Milan Public Library, 19 E. Church St., Milan.
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 Milan-Berlin Library District branch.
New in Milan? 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 $2.03 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Milan cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1,000K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1,000K 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 3,256 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Milan Public Library is one branch of Milan-Berlin Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 9,249 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 Milan
Does Milan have a public library?
Yes: Milan Public Library, 19 E. Church St., is a branch of Milan-Berlin Library District, which serves 9,249 people. The branch is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Milan-Berlin Library District 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 Milan’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 13.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Milan’s civic life grade?
A Milan is ahead of 88% 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 Milan.
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.