Photo: Nyttend · Public domainPerry’s library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Perry Public Library serves 8,862 people in and around Perry. Last year it lent 159K books, movies and e-books and logged 40K visits.
Perry’s library, in brief
A system of heavy borrowers
Perry Public Library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 96% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Ohio pays a big share
38% of the budget comes from the state, and 49% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.8 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. It’s 27% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 38% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Perry Public Library spends $138 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. 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; Perry Public Library serves 8,862 people in and around Perry, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Perry’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Perry is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns. Perry is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Perry’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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Perry
3.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.1%
8.1% of Perry’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 Perry’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
159K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
42,527 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Perry Public Library serves 8,862 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 49 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Perry Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 7 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.
Find it
Perry Public Library, 3753 Main St., Perry.
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 Perry Public Library branch.
New in Perry? 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 $2.05 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Perry cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 3,965 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Perry Public Library serves 8,862 people in and around Perry, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Perry.
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 Perry
Does Perry have a public library?
Yes. Perry Public Library, 3753 Main St., serves 8,862 people in and around Perry (the survey’s count) and is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Perry 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 Perry’s library?
It logged 4.5 visits and lent 17.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Perry’s civic life grade?
B− Perry is ahead of 50% 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 Perry.
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.