Photo: Spencer · CC BY-SA 2.5Shaker Heights’ library logs 8.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Shaker Heights Public Library serves 33,188 people in and around Shaker Heights from 2 locations. Last year it lent 765K books, movies and e-books and logged 275K visits.
What Shaker Heights’s library is like
One of the busiest library systems its size
Shaker Heights Public Library logs 8.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 14 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 96% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 42% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Shaker Heights Public Library ran 1,364 programs last year, about 26 a week. That’s 41 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
40% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 40% of loans, more per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 60%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
Shaker Heights Public Library spends $157 per resident a year, about four times the typical $40 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
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; Shaker Heights Public Library serves 33,188 people in and around Shaker Heights, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Shaker Heights’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Shaker Heights is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #318 of 914 in Ohio. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
139 community nonprofits are registered in Shaker Heights
4.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (34 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.5%
6.5% of Shaker Heights’ 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 Shaker Heights’ residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 124 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Shaker Heights Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Shaker Heights Public Library serves 33,188 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
40% of borrowing is digital
765K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
304,297 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 17 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.
2 places to borrow in Shaker Heights
Shaker Heights Public Library, 16500 Van Aken Boulevard, Shaker Heights.
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 Shaker Heights Public Library branch.
New in Shaker Heights? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Shaker Heights Public Library branches in Shaker Heights
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shaker Heights cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $5.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $12M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.2M 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 25,688 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaker Heights | Shaker Heights Public Library fine-free | — | 69 | B+ |
| Cleveland | Cleveland Public Library fine-free | — | 48 | C+ |
| Cleveland Heights | Cleveland Heights-University Heights Pl fine-free | — | 69 | B− |
| Beachwood | Beachwood Branch Library fine-free | — | 67 | B+ |
| University Heights | University Heights Branch Library fine-free | — | 54 | A− |
| Highland Hills | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Shaker Heights Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- System-wide. Shaker Heights Public Library serves 33,188 people in and around Shaker Heights, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Shaker Heights.
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 Shaker Heights
Does Shaker Heights have a public library?
Yes. Shaker Heights Public Library, 16500 Van Aken Boulevard, serves 33,188 people in and around Shaker Heights (the survey’s count) and is open about 69 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Shaker Heights 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 Shaker Heights’ library?
It logged 8.3 visits and lent 23.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Shaker Heights’ civic life grade?
B+ Shaker Heights is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on civic life, #318 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 Shaker Heights.
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.