Photo: Nyttend · Public domainRossford’s library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Rossford Public Library serves 13,548 people in and around Rossford. Last year it lent 189K books, movies and e-books and logged 53K visits.
The short version on Rossford’s library
Ohio pays a big share
54% of the budget comes from the state, and 32% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
Rossford Public Library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 94% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 51% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
78% of the 307 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.7 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Rossford Public Library serves 13,548 people in and around Rossford, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Rossford’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Rossford is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns, #598 of 914 in Ohio. Rossford is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Rossford’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($53K–$89K) 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 →
22 community nonprofits are registered in Rossford
3.5 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 (4 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.
7.6%
7.6% of Rossford’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 Rossford’s residents live; 2022.
About 5 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 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Rossford Public Library serves 13,548 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 71 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Rossford Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
189K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
27,040 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Rossford Public Library, 720 Dixie Highway, Rossford.
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 Rossford Public Library branch.
New in Rossford? 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 $2.67 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rossford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 6,775 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rossford | Rossford Public Library fine-free | — | 51 | C+ |
| Perrysburg Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Northwood | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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. Rossford Public Library serves 13,548 people in and around Rossford, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Rossford.
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 Rossford
Does Rossford have a public library?
Yes. Rossford Public Library, 720 Dixie Highway, serves 13,548 people in and around Rossford (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rossford 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 Rossford’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 13.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Rossford’s civic life grade?
C+ Rossford is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on civic life, #598 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 Rossford.
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.