Photo: SilentMatt Psychedelic · CC BY-SA 4.0Richfield’s library is a branch of Akron-Summit Cnty Public Library, which lends more per resident than 92% of systems its size
Richfield’s library is the Richfield Branch Library, a branch of Akron-Summit Cnty Public Library, which serves 381,648 people and lent 4.6M items last year.
The short version on Richfield’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Akron-Summit Cnty Public Library system logs 3.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 8.8 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Ohio pays a big share
46% of the budget comes from the state, and 46% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Programs draw a crowd
228,000 people came to the system’s 7,818 programs last year: 0.6 per resident, against a typical 0.2, more than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 42% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
The Akron-Summit Cnty Public Library system spends $82 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; Richfield’s library is a branch of Akron-Summit Cnty Public Library, so they cover the whole system (381,648 people), not just the Richfield branch.
What’s behind Richfield’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Richfield is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #244 of 914 in Ohio. Richfield is graded on two of the three inputs. Richfield’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 →
47 community nonprofits are registered in Richfield
12.6 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.8%
6.8% of Richfield’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 Richfield’s residents live; 2022.
About 67 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.
Akron-Summit Cnty Public Library serves 381,648 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 85 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Akron-Summit Cnty Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
4.6M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,233,563 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Richfield Branch Library, 3761 S Grant St., Richfield.
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 Akron-Summit Cnty Public Library branch.
New in Richfield? 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 $2.31 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Richfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $31M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $72M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $31M 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 281,482 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Richfield Branch Library is one branch of Akron-Summit Cnty Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 381,648 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 Richfield
Does Richfield have a public library?
Yes: Richfield Branch Library, 3761 S Grant St., is a branch of Akron-Summit Cnty Public Library, which serves 381,648 people. The branch is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Akron-Summit Cnty 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 Richfield’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 12.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Richfield’s civic life grade?
A− Richfield is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on civic life, #244 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 Richfield.
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.