Photo: GrantGursky · CC BY-SA 4.0New Philadelphia’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Tuscarawas County Public Library serves 55,515 people in and around New Philadelphia. Last year it lent 751K books, movies and e-books and logged 171K visits.
New Philadelphia’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
45% of the budget comes from the state, and 48% 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 53% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
Tuscarawas County Public Library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 91% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; Tuscarawas County Public Library serves 55,515 people in and around New Philadelphia, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind New Philadelphia’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, New Philadelphia is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #266 of 914 in Ohio. New Philadelphia is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
77 community nonprofits are registered in New Philadelphia
4.4 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 (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.3%
9.3% of New Philadelphia’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 Philadelphia’s residents live; 2022.
About 18 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.
Tuscarawas County Public Library serves 55,515 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 64 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Tuscarawas County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
751K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
149,498 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Tuscarawas County Public Library, 121 Fair Avenue NW, New Philadelphia.
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 Tuscarawas County Public Library branch.
New in New Philadelphia? 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 $3.09 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Philadelphia cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.7M 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 19,996 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Philadelphia | Tuscarawas County Public Library fine-free | — | 60 | A− |
| Dover | Dover Public Library | — | 56 | A |
| Goshen Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Dover Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Fairfield Township | None of its own | — | — | 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. Tuscarawas County Public Library serves 55,515 people in and around New Philadelphia, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just New Philadelphia.
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 Philadelphia
Does New Philadelphia have a public library?
Yes. Tuscarawas County Public Library, 121 Fair Avenue NW, serves 55,515 people in and around New Philadelphia (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Tuscarawas County 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 New Philadelphia’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 13.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is New Philadelphia’s civic life grade?
A− New Philadelphia is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on civic life, #266 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 Philadelphia.
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.