Photo: Wdzinc · CC BY-SA 3.0Orange Township’s library is a branch of Delaware County District Library, which lends more per resident than 93% of systems its size
Orange Township’s library is the Orange Branch, a branch of Delaware County District Library, which serves 165,831 people and lent 2M items last year.
Orange Township’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 57% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
The Delaware County District Library system lends 9.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 93% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Ohio pays a big share
31% of the budget comes from the state, and 56% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
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; Orange Township’s library is a branch of Delaware County District Library, so they cover the whole system (165,831 people), not just the Orange Township branch.
What’s behind Orange Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Orange Township is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #532 of 914 in Ohio. Orange Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Orange Township’s 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 →
102 community nonprofits are registered in Orange Township
2.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (26 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 7 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.8%
9.8% of Orange Township’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 Orange Township’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 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Delaware County District Library serves 165,831 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 140 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Delaware County District Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
433,553 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Orange Branch, 7171 Gooding Boulevard, Delaware.
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 Delaware County District Library branch.
New in Orange Township? 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 $3.35 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Orange Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $8.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $29M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.5M 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 100,230 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange Township | Orange Branch fine-free | — | 50 | B− |
| Columbus | Columbus Metropolitan Library fine-free | — | 70 | B |
| Westerville | Westerville Public Library fine-free | — | 70 | A− |
| Liberty Township | Liberty Branch fine-free | — | 50 | B+ |
| Berlin Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Genoa Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Berkshire 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. Orange Branch is one branch of Delaware County District Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 165,831 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 Orange Township
Does Orange Township have a public library?
Yes: Orange Branch, 7171 Gooding Boulevard, is a branch of Delaware County District Library, which serves 165,831 people. The branch is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Delaware 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 Orange Township’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 11.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Orange Township’s civic life grade?
B− Orange Township is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on civic life, #532 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 Orange Township.
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.