Zollinger, S., Company Building · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainPiqua’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Piqua Public Library serves 23,760 people in and around Piqua. Last year it lent 75K books, movies and e-books and logged 31K visits.
The short version on Piqua’s library
Ohio pays a big share
51% of the budget comes from the state, and 42% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Piqua Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Piqua Public Library records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
47% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 47% of loans, more per resident than at 62% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 53%, much of it kids’ books. 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; Piqua Public Library serves 23,760 people in and around Piqua, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Piqua’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Piqua is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns, #754 of 914 in Ohio. Piqua’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($51K–$85K) 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 →
79 community nonprofits are registered in Piqua
3.8 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 (24 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.3%
7.3% of Piqua’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 Piqua’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Piqua Public Library serves 23,760 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 28 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Piqua Public Library system. The library’s own count.
47% of borrowing is digital
75K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
35,092 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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
Piqua Public Library, 116 West High Street, Piqua.
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 Piqua Public Library branch.
New in Piqua? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Piqua cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 16,978 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piqua | Piqua Public Library fine-free | — | 51 | C |
| Washington Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Springcreek Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Staunton Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
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. Piqua Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- System-wide. Piqua Public Library serves 23,760 people in and around Piqua, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Piqua.
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 Piqua
Does Piqua have a public library?
Yes. Piqua Public Library, 116 West High Street, serves 23,760 people in and around Piqua (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Piqua 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 Piqua’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 3.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Piqua’s civic life grade?
C Piqua is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns on civic life, #754 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 Piqua.
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.