Photo: Myself · CC BY 2.5Paulding’s library runs 92 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Paulding County Carnegie Library serves 18,806 people in and around Paulding. Last year it lent 230K books, movies and e-books and logged 57K visits.
Paulding’s library, in brief
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Paulding County Carnegie Library ran 1,736 programs last year, about 33 a week. That’s 92 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Ohio pays a big share
47% of the budget comes from the state, and 33% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
17,806 cards for 18,806 people, or 95%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Paulding County Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983. Today’s library there has 9,960 square feet. The building ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
Paulding County Carnegie Library lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 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; Paulding County Carnegie Library serves 18,806 people in and around Paulding, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Paulding’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Paulding is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #13 of 914 in Ohio. Paulding is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Paulding’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
54 community nonprofits are registered in Paulding
16.7 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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.4%
11.4% of Paulding’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 Paulding’s residents live; 2022.
About 14 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Paulding County Carnegie Library serves 18,806 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Paulding County Carnegie Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
230K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
35,877 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
A National Register landmark since 1983
Paulding County Carnegie Library, 205 S. Main St., Paulding.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Paulding County Carnegie Library branch.
New in Paulding? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Paulding County Carnegie Library
Paulding County Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Apr 21, 1983. It is significant for its social history and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Beaux Arts.
The Paulding County Carnegie Library is a historic Carnegie library in the village of Paulding, Ohio, United States. Constructed in the early twentieth century, it is a simple building that has served as the core of Paulding County's library system since its construction, and it has been designated a historic site.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Paulding cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M 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 17,806 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paulding | Paulding County Carnegie Library | — | 52 | A+ |
| Paulding Township | Paulding County Carnegie Library | — | 52 | — graded with its twin city |
| Jackson Township | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Emerald Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Paulding County Carnegie Library serves 18,806 people in and around Paulding, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Paulding.
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 Paulding
Does Paulding have a public library?
Yes. Paulding County Carnegie Library, 205 S. Main St., serves 18,806 people in and around Paulding (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Paulding County Carnegie 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 Paulding’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 12.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Paulding’s civic life grade?
A+ Paulding is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on civic life, #13 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 Paulding.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.