Photo: Nyttend · Public domainRidgeway’s library is a branch of Ridgemont Public Library, which lends more per resident than 65% of systems its size
Ridgeway’s library is the Ridgeway Branch, a branch of Ridgemont Public Library, which serves 3,469 people and lent 21K items last year.
What Ridgeway’s library is like
Ohio pays a big share
78% of the budget comes from the state, and 10% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Open only about 22 hours a week
The Ridgeway branch keeps short hours: about 22 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 67% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 82% of similar-size libraries. 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; Ridgeway’s library is a branch of Ridgemont Public Library, so they cover the whole system (3,469 people), not just the Ridgeway branch.
What’s behind Ridgeway’s civic life grade
Ridgeway isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
About 1 kids’ program 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 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Ridgemont Public Library serves 3,469 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Ridgemont Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
21K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,546 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Ridgeway Branch, 109 S Main St., Ridgeway.
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 Ridgemont Public Library branch.
New in Ridgeway? 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 $1.71 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ridgeway cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $196K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $336K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $196K 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 870 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ridgeway | Ridgeway Branch fine-free | — | 22 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Hale Township | Ridgemont Public Library fine-free | — | 34 | A |
| Bokescreek Township | West Mansfield Branch Library fine-free | — | 16 | 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. Ridgeway Branch is one branch of Ridgemont Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 3,469 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 Ridgeway
Does Ridgeway have a public library?
Yes: Ridgeway Branch, 109 S Main St., is a branch of Ridgemont Public Library, which serves 3,469 people. The branch is open about 22 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ridgemont 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 Ridgeway’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 6.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Ridgeway’s civic life grade?
Ridgeway isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Ridgeway.
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.