Photo: Nyttend · Public domainNew Paris’ library is a branch of Preble County District Library, which lends more per resident than 61% of systems its size
New Paris’s library is the New Paris Branch Library, a branch of Preble County District Library, which serves 38,015 people and lent 223K items last year.
New Paris’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
58% of the budget comes from the state, and 40% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
The Preble County District Library system logs 5.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 89% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 4.8 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
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 Paris’s library is a branch of Preble County District Library, so they cover the whole system (38,015 people), not just the New Paris branch.
What’s behind New Paris’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, New Paris is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns. New Paris is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; New Paris’ count of community nonprofits 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 →
3 community nonprofits are registered in New Paris
2.0 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.5%
10.5% of New Paris’ 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 Paris’ residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Preble County District Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Preble County District Library serves 38,015 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
223K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
40,952 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 11 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
New Paris Branch Library, 115 N. Washington St., New Paris.
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 Preble County District Library branch.
New in New Paris? 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 $1.87 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Paris cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.5M 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 14,112 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. New Paris Branch Library is one branch of Preble County District Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 38,015 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 Paris
Does New Paris have a public library?
Yes: New Paris Branch Library, 115 N. Washington St., is a branch of Preble County District Library, which serves 38,015 people. The branch is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Preble County 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 Paris’ library?
It logged 5.2 visits and lent 5.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is New Paris’ civic life grade?
B− New Paris is ahead of 47% 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 New Paris.
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.