Photo: Nyttend · Public domainRichland Township’s library logs 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Belle Center Free Public Library serves 11,165 people in and around Richland Township. Last year it lent 9,304 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,328 visits.
Richland Township’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
89% of the budget comes from the state, and 0% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Belle Center Free Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Belle Center Free Public Library records 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $11 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Belle Center Free Public Library offered 86 programs last year, 7.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 17% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Belle Center Free Public Library spends $11 per resident, less than 95% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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; Belle Center Free Public Library serves 11,165 people in and around Richland Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Richland Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Richland Township is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns, #612 of 914 in Ohio. Richland Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Richland Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($49K–$81K) 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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Richland Township
2.8 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.4%
8.4% of Richland Township’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 Richland Township’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Belle Center Free Public Library serves 11,165 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Belle Center Free Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
9,304 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,488 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
86 programs a year
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
Belle Center Free Public Library, 103 S. Elizabeth St., Belle Center.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Belle Center Free Public Library branch.
New in Richland Township? 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 $1.29 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Richland Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $120K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $155K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $120K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 1,915 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richland Township | Belle Center Free Public Library | — | 32 | C+ |
| Stokes Township | Lakeview Branch Library fine-free | — | 16 | C |
| Rushcreek Township | Rushsylvania Branch Library fine-free | — | 16 | B− |
| McArthur Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| McDonald Township | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
| Washington Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
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. Belle Center Free Public Library serves 11,165 people in and around Richland Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Richland Township.
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 Richland Township
Does Richland Township have a public library?
Yes. Belle Center Free Public Library, 103 S. Elizabeth St., serves 11,165 people in and around Richland Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Belle Center Free Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Richland Township’s library?
It logged 0.3 visits and lent 0.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Richland Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Richland Township is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on civic life, #612 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 Richland Township.
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.