James Delos Hill House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMontpelier’s library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Montpelier Public Library serves 5,569 people in and around Montpelier. Last year it lent 83K books, movies and e-books and logged 41K visits.
The short version on Montpelier’s library
Ohio pays a big share
83% of the budget comes from the state, and 0% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 56% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Montpelier Public Library logs 7.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.2 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. It’s 21% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Montpelier Public Library ran 537 programs last year, about 10 a week. That’s 96 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 6,716 attended. 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; Montpelier Public Library serves 5,569 people in and around Montpelier, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Montpelier’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Montpelier is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #241 of 914 in Ohio. Montpelier is graded on two of the three inputs. Montpelier’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 →
34 community nonprofits are registered in Montpelier
8.8 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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.2%
7.2% of Montpelier’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 Montpelier’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Montpelier Public Library serves 5,569 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 33 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Montpelier Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
83K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
17,557 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Montpelier Public Library, 216 E. Main St., Montpelier.
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 Montpelier Public Library branch.
New in Montpelier? 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 $4.30 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Montpelier cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $296K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $296K 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 2,525 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montpelier | Montpelier Public Library fine-free | — | 49 | A− |
| Superior Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Jefferson 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.
- System-wide. Montpelier Public Library serves 5,569 people in and around Montpelier, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Montpelier.
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 Montpelier
Does Montpelier have a public library?
Yes. Montpelier Public Library, 216 E. Main St., serves 5,569 people in and around Montpelier (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Montpelier 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 Montpelier’s library?
It logged 7.3 visits and lent 14.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Montpelier’s civic life grade?
A− Montpelier is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on civic life, #241 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 Montpelier.
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.