Photo: Vbofficial at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0South Webster’s library is a branch of Scioto County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 62% of systems its size
South Webster’s library is the South Webster Branch Library, a branch of Scioto County Public Library, which serves 74,008 people and lent 316K items last year.
What stands out about South Webster Branch Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind South Webster’s civic life grade
South Webster 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Scioto County Public Library serves 74,008 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Scioto County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
316K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
105,195 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.
Find it
South Webster Branch Library, 496 Webster St., South Webster.
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 Scioto County Public Library branch.
New in South Webster? 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 $1.10 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Webster cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.7M 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 42,029 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. South Webster Branch Library is one branch of Scioto County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 74,008 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 South Webster
Does South Webster have a public library?
Yes: South Webster Branch Library, 496 Webster St., is a branch of Scioto County Public Library, which serves 74,008 people. The branch is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Scioto County 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 South Webster’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 4.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is South Webster’s civic life grade?
South Webster 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 South Webster.
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.