Photo: Nyttend · Public domainReading’s library is a branch of Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 99% of systems its size
Reading’s library is the Reading, a branch of Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, which serves 830,639 people and lent 2M items last year.
Reading’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library system logs 4.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 15 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Ohio pays a big share
52% of the budget comes from the state, and 41% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 42% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 8.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. It’s 37% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
The Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library system spends $88 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 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; Reading’s library is a branch of Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (830,639 people), not just the Reading branch.
What’s behind Reading’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Reading is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #627 of 914 in Ohio. Reading is graded on two of the three inputs. Reading’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($46K–$77K) 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 →
42 community nonprofits are registered in Reading
4.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (17 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.6%
6.6% of Reading’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 Reading’s residents live; 2022.
About 161 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 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library serves 830,639 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 169 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
7,385,687 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Reading, 8740 Reading Rd., Reading.
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 Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library branch.
New in Reading? 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 $4.23 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Reading cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $73M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $309M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $73M 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 396,190 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | Reading fine-free | — | 58 | C+ |
| Sycamore Township | Deer Park fine-free | — | 64 | B+ |
| Blue Ash | Blue Ash fine-free | — | 60 | A− |
| Dillonvale | Deer Park fine-free | — | 64 | — unincorporated |
| Cincinnati | Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County fine-free | — | 54 | B+ |
| Evendale | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Amberley | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Lockland | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Arlington Heights | 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. Reading is one branch of Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 830,639 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 Reading
Does Reading have a public library?
Yes: Reading, 8740 Reading Rd., is a branch of Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, which serves 830,639 people. The branch is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cincinnati and Hamilton 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 Reading’s library?
It logged 4.9 visits and lent 24.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Reading’s civic life grade?
C+ Reading is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on civic life, #627 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 Reading.
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.