Photo: Nyttend · Public domainNew Bremen’s library is a branch of Auglaize County Public District Library, which lends more per resident than 65% of systems its size
New Bremen’s library is the New Bremen Public Library, a branch of Auglaize County Public District Library, which serves 32,752 people and lent 243K items last year.
New Bremen’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
86% of the budget comes from the state, and 0% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
The Auglaize County Public District Library system ran 1,665 programs last year, about 32 a week. That’s 51 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 26,000 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; New Bremen’s library is a branch of Auglaize County Public District Library, so they cover the whole system (32,752 people), not just the New Bremen branch.
What’s behind New Bremen’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, New Bremen is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #47 of 914 in Ohio. New Bremen is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; New Bremen’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 →
22 community nonprofits are registered in New Bremen
7.9 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.8%
9.8% of New Bremen’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 New Bremen’s residents live; 2022.
About 13 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.
Auglaize County Public District Library serves 32,752 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Auglaize County Public District Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
243K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
67,825 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
New Bremen Public Library, 45 S. Washington St., New Bremen.
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 Auglaize County Public District Library branch.
New in New Bremen? 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 $3.08 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Bremen cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 23,395 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. New Bremen Public Library is one branch of Auglaize County Public District Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 32,752 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 New Bremen
Does New Bremen have a public library?
Yes: New Bremen Public Library, 45 S. Washington St., is a branch of Auglaize County Public District Library, which serves 32,752 people. The branch is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Auglaize County Public District 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 New Bremen’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 7.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is New Bremen’s civic life grade?
A New Bremen is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on civic life, #47 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 New Bremen.
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.