Photo: User:OHWiki · Public domainShelby’s library runs 64 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Marvin Memorial Library serves 13,114 people in and around Shelby. Last year it lent 85K books, movies and e-books and logged 34K visits.
Shelby’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
51% of the budget comes from the state, and 42% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Marvin Memorial Library ran 835 programs last year, about 16 a week. That’s 64 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Marvin Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1987. Today’s library there has 13,000 square feet. The building ↓
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; Marvin Memorial Library serves 13,114 people in and around Shelby, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Shelby’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Shelby is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #153 of 914 in Ohio. Shelby is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Shelby’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
62 community nonprofits are registered in Shelby
7.0 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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.3%
8.3% of Shelby’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 Shelby’s residents live; 2022.
About 9 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 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Marvin Memorial Library serves 13,114 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Marvin Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
85K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
22,065 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
A National Register landmark since 1987
Marvin Memorial Library, 29 W. Whitney, Shelby.
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 Marvin Memorial Library branch.
New in Shelby? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Marvin Memorial Library
Marvin Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Aug 13, 1987. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Greek Revival.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.70 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shelby cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $846K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $846K 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 5,716 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby | Marvin Memorial Library fine-free | — | 58 | A− |
| Sharon Township | Marvin Memorial Library fine-free | — | 58 | A− |
| Plymouth Township | Plymouth Branch Library fine-free | — | 57 | — graded with its twin city |
| Jackson 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.
- System-wide. Marvin Memorial Library serves 13,114 people in and around Shelby, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Shelby.
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 Shelby
Does Shelby have a public library?
Yes. Marvin Memorial Library, 29 W. Whitney, serves 13,114 people in and around Shelby (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Marvin Memorial 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 Shelby’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 6.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Shelby’s civic life grade?
A− Shelby is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life, #153 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 Shelby.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.