Photo: User:OHWiki · Public domainPlymouth’s library is a branch of Mansfield-Richland County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 93% of systems its size
Plymouth’s library is the Plymouth Branch Library, a branch of Mansfield-Richland County Public Library, which serves 99,110 people and lent 1.6M items last year.
The short version on Plymouth’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Mansfield-Richland County Public Library system logs 5.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Ohio pays a big share
33% of the budget comes from the state, and 50% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.8 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. It’s 24% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
76% of the 3,090 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 21 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
The Mansfield-Richland County Public Library system spends $129 per resident a year, about three times the typical $40 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; Plymouth’s library is a branch of Mansfield-Richland County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (99,110 people), not just the Plymouth branch.
What’s behind Plymouth’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Plymouth is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns. Plymouth is graded on two of the three inputs. Plymouth’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Plymouth
5.5 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.8%
6.8% of Plymouth’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 Plymouth’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1.6M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
372,016 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 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Mansfield-Richland County Public Library serves 99,110 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 55 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mansfield-Richland County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 45 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
Plymouth Branch Library, 29 W. Broadway, Plymouth.
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 Mansfield-Richland County Public Library branch.
New in Plymouth? 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 $3.75 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Plymouth cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $13M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $48M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $13M 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 57,681 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Plymouth Branch Library is one branch of Mansfield-Richland County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 99,110 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 Plymouth
Does Plymouth have a public library?
Yes: Plymouth Branch Library, 29 W. Broadway, is a branch of Mansfield-Richland County Public Library, which serves 99,110 people. The branch is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mansfield-Richland County 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 Plymouth’s library?
It logged 5.2 visits and lent 15.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Plymouth’s civic life grade?
B Plymouth is ahead of 61% 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 Plymouth.
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.