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Orwell, Ohio (circa 1910)Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain
Grand Valley Public Library

Orwell’s library runs 136 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size

Grand Valley Public Library serves 10,060 people in and around Orwell. Last year it lent 172K books, movies and e-books and logged 10K visits.

1 N. School St., Orwell 44076 · about 48 hours a week
C+Civic lifeAhead of 44% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (440) 437-6545 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
172K
17.1 per resident
Visits a year
10K
1 per resident · Below typical (3.1)
Programs & events
1,373
about 26 a week · 2,025 attended
Cardholders
33%
3,330 cards
Open
48 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Orwell’s library is like

More than half the print loans are for kids

Children’s books and media are 65% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓

Six times the programs of a typical library its size

Grand Valley Public Library ran 1,373 programs last year, about 26 a week. That’s 136 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓

People borrow more than they stay

Borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 89%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓

Programs are almost all for children

92% of the 1,373 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 7.9 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓

Ohio pays a big share

29% of the budget comes from the state, and 50% 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; Grand Valley Public Library serves 10,060 people in and around Orwell, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Orwell’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Orwell is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns. Orwell is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Orwell’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.

C+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Orwell’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureC+Community nonprofits3.2 per 1,000 residents · OH towns 3.9 · U.S. 3.7BVolunteering8.0% of adults 25–44 · OH towns 8.5% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 44%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $31K–$52K (2,410)Ahead of 52%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Orwell is small (1,499 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

6 community nonprofits are registered in Orwell

3.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.18 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.70 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans10.82 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.70 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.35 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.53 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

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.

Volunteering

8.0%

8.0% of Orwell’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 Orwell’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 24 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Orwell →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5413
Ages 6–11849
Teens25
Adults86
All ages0
Little ones
7.9

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

110K
kids’ books & media borrowed
2,025
people at programs
1,373
programs
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1 visits · typical 3.1Lower than 89%
Borrowing per resident 16.8 print items · typical 3.9Top 10%
Digital borrowing 0.3 e-items · typical 1.1Lower than 86%
Kids’ borrowing 10.9 kids’ items · typical 1.8Top 10%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.4Lower than 80%
Programs offered 136.5 per 1,000 residents · typical 24Top 10%
Cardholders 33% of residents · typical 40%Lower than 63%
Spending $50 per resident · typical $43Higher than 59%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Grand Valley Public Library serves 10,060 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 72 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Grand Valley Public Library system. The library’s own count.

10K
visits
1 per resident
172K
loans, print + digital
17.1 per resident
1,373
programs & events
2,025 attended
3,330
library cards
33% of people served
Every open hour72items borrowed
Every week39people at a program
Every day10Wi-Fi sessions
9 staff (full-time equivalent)12 public computers
What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

172K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

172Kloans
Books & media (adults) 34%Kids’ books & media 64%E-books, audio & streaming 2%
From your couch

2,896 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

The building

Find it

Grand Valley Public Library, 1 N. School St., Orwell.

Directions(440) 437-6545
48
hours open a week
4,000
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Grand Valley Public Library branch.

New in Orwell? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $4.75 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Orwell cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
3
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$636
a year at retail prices · $53 a month

Who pays for it
$50 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $504K.

Local taxes 50%State 29%Gifts & other 21%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $504K budget.

Late fines apply to some overdue items.

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 3,330 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Grand Valley Public Library serves 10,060 people in and around Orwell, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Orwell.

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 Orwell

Does Orwell have a public library?

Yes. Grand Valley Public Library, 1 N. School St., serves 10,060 people in and around Orwell (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Grand Valley Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?

It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Orwell’s library?

It logged 1.0 visits and lent 17.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.

What is Orwell’s civic life grade?

C+ Orwell is ahead of 44% 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 Orwell.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.