Photo: Upstateherd · CC BY-SA 4.0Niles’ library lends 6.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Mckinley Memorial Library serves 18,183 people in and around Niles from 2 locations. Last year it lent 197K books, movies and e-books and logged 50K visits.
Niles’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
66% of the budget comes from the state, and 23% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
43% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 43% of loans, more per resident than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 57%. 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; Mckinley Memorial Library serves 18,183 people in and around Niles, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Niles’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Niles is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns, #762 of 914 in Ohio. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($38K–$64K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
56 community nonprofits are registered in Niles
3.1 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 (17 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.3%
6.3% of Niles’ 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 Niles’ residents live; 2022.
43% of borrowing is digital
197K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
84,668 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 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Mckinley Memorial Library serves 18,183 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 57 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mckinley Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
About 2 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.
2 places to borrow in Niles
Mckinley Memorial Library, 40 N. Main St., Niles.
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 Mckinley Memorial Library branch.
New in Niles? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Mckinley Memorial Library branches in Niles
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.50 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Niles cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.3M 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 10,312 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niles | Mckinley Memorial Library fine-free | — | 56 | C |
| Weathersfield Township | Mckinley Memorial Library fine-free | — | 56 | C− |
| Howland Township | Howland Branch Library fine-free | — | 60 | C− |
| Warren | Warren-Trumbull County Public Library fine-free | — | 60 | C |
| McKinley Heights | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Hilltop | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Bolindale | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| McDonald | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Mineral Ridge | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Mckinley Memorial Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- System-wide. Mckinley Memorial Library serves 18,183 people in and around Niles, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Niles.
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 Niles
Does Niles have a public library?
Yes. Mckinley Memorial Library, 40 N. Main St., serves 18,183 people in and around Niles (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mckinley Memorial 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 Niles’ library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 10.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Niles’ civic life grade?
C Niles is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns on civic life, #762 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 Niles.
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.