Photo: David Wilson · CC BY 2.0Springfield’s library logs 2.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size
Clark County Public Library serves 129,685 people in and around Springfield from 4 locations. Last year it lent 747K books, movies and e-books and logged 349K visits.
Springfield’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
56% of the budget comes from the state, and 31% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A well-funded system
Clark County Public Library spends $83 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Four branches in Springfield
Springfield has four branches of the Clark County Public Library, which serves 129,685 people in and around Springfield. One card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
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; Clark County Public Library serves 129,685 people in and around Springfield, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Springfield’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Springfield is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #564 of 914 in Ohio. Springfield is graded on two of the three inputs. Springfield’s count of community nonprofits holds 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 →
285 community nonprofits are registered in Springfield
4.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (100 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.2%
6.2% of Springfield’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 Springfield’s residents live; 2022.
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 Springfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $11M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $12M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $11M 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 63,266 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Clark County Public Library serves 129,685 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 42 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Clark County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
747K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
259,490 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
4 places to borrow in Springfield
Clark County Public Library, 201 S. Fountain Ave., Springfield.
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 Clark County Public Library branch.
New in Springfield? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Clark County Public Library branches in Springfield
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield | Clark County Public Library fine-free | — | 63 | B− |
| Mad River Township | Enon Branch fine-free | — | 54 | B |
| Springfield Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Moorefield Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| German Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Northridge | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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. Clark County Public Library serves 129,685 people in and around Springfield, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Springfield.
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 Springfield
Does Springfield have a public library?
Yes. Clark County Public Library, 201 S. Fountain Ave., serves 129,685 people in and around Springfield (the survey’s count) and is open about 63 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Clark 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 Springfield’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 5.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Springfield’s civic life grade?
B− Springfield is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on civic life, #564 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 Springfield.
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.