Photo: Nyttend · Public domainSalem Township’s library runs 47 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Oak Harbor Public Library serves 9,963 people in and around Salem Township. Last year it lent 40K books, movies and e-books and logged 35K visits.
The short version on Salem Township’s library
Ohio pays a big share
42% of the budget comes from the state, and 41% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
72% of the 469 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3 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; Oak Harbor Public Library serves 9,963 people in and around Salem Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Salem Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Salem Township is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #36 of 914 in Ohio. Salem Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
34 community nonprofits are registered in Salem Township
6.5 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.9%
11.9% of Salem 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 Salem Township’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Oak Harbor Public Library serves 9,963 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Oak Harbor Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
40K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
10,731 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 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.
Find it
Oak Harbor Public Library, 147 W. Main St., Oak Harbor.
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 Oak Harbor Public Library branch.
New in Salem Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Salem Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $824K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $712K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $824K 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 3,085 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Township | Oak Harbor Public Library fine-free | — | 50 | A+ |
| Harris Township | Harris-Elmore Public Library fine-free | — | 51 | A+ |
| Carroll Township | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Rice Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Bay Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Erie 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. Oak Harbor Public Library serves 9,963 people in and around Salem Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Salem 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 Salem Township
Does Salem Township have a public library?
Yes. Oak Harbor Public Library, 147 W. Main St., serves 9,963 people in and around Salem Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Oak Harbor 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 Salem Township’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 4.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Salem Township’s civic life grade?
A+ Salem Township is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on civic life, #36 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 Salem 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.