Photo: Nyttend · Public domainSalem Township’s library runs 3.4 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Salem Township Public Library serves 42,715 people in and around Salem Township. Last year it lent 98K print books and media and logged 36K visits.
The short version on Salem Township’s library
Ohio pays a big share
49% of the budget comes from the state, and 29% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Salem Township Public Library offered 145 programs last year, 3.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Salem Township Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
79% of the 145 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
Salem Township Public Library records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, below 93% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 2.3 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
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; Salem Township Public Library serves 42,715 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 72% of U.S. towns, #307 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 →
21 community nonprofits are registered in Salem Township
3.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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.
10.0%
10.0% 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.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Salem Township Public Library serves 42,715 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 44 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Salem Township Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
98K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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
Salem Township Public Library, 535 W. Pike St., Morrow.
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 Salem Township 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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.44 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: $40. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $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 12,538 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 | Salem Township Public Library fine-free | — | 43 | B+ |
| Harlan Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Washington Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Hamilton Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Union Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Turtlecreek Township | 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Salem Township Public Library serves 42,715 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. Salem Township Public Library, 535 W. Pike St., serves 42,715 people in and around Salem Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Salem Township 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 0.8 visits and lent 2.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Salem Township’s civic life grade?
B+ Salem Township is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on civic life, #307 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.