Photo: Roseohioresident · CC BY-SA 4.0Scio’s library is a branch of Puskarich Public Library, which lends more per resident than 60% of systems its size
Scio’s library is the Scio Branch Library, a branch of Puskarich Public Library, which serves 13,119 people and lent 85K items last year.
What Scio’s library is like
Ohio pays a big share
41% of the budget comes from the state, and 50% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
The Puskarich Public Library system ran 922 programs last year, about 18 a week. That’s 70 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. 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; Scio’s library is a branch of Puskarich Public Library, so they cover the whole system (13,119 people), not just the Scio branch.
What’s behind Scio’s civic life grade
Scio 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 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.
Puskarich Public Library serves 13,119 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Puskarich Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
85K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
22,019 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Scio Branch Library, 331 W Main St., Scio.
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 Puskarich Public Library branch.
New in Scio? 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 $1.42 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Scio cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M 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 5,930 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Scio Branch Library is one branch of Puskarich Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 13,119 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 Scio
Does Scio have a public library?
Yes: Scio Branch Library, 331 W Main St., is a branch of Puskarich Public Library, which serves 13,119 people. The branch is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Puskarich 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 Scio’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 6.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Scio’s civic life grade?
Scio 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 Scio.
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.