Sylvania’s library is a branch of Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 86% of systems its size
Sylvania’s library is the Sylvania Branch, a branch of Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, which serves 428,505 people and lent 4.9M items last year.
The short version on Sylvania’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Toledo-Lucas County Public Library system logs 4.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 7.2 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 86% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Ohio pays a big share
39% of the budget comes from the state, and 57% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.3 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. It’s 37% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Open about 67 hours a week
The Sylvania branch is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
A well-funded system
The Toledo-Lucas County Public Library system spends $104 per resident a year, about three times the typical $36 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; Sylvania’s library is a branch of Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (428,505 people), not just the Sylvania branch.
What’s behind Sylvania’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Sylvania is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #47 of 914 in Ohio. Sylvania is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Sylvania’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 →
129 community nonprofits are registered in Sylvania
6.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (25 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.
10.5%
10.5% of Sylvania’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 Sylvania’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 75 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Toledo-Lucas County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Toledo-Lucas County Public Library serves 428,505 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
4.9M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,835,137 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 53 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 Sylvania
Sylvania Branch, 6749 Monroe St., Sylvania.
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 Toledo-Lucas County Public Library branch.
New in Sylvania? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Toledo-Lucas County Public Library branches in Sylvania
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.77 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sylvania cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $45M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $79M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $45M 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 261,087 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sylvania | Sylvania Branch fine-free | — | 67 | A |
| Sylvania Township | Sylvania Branch fine-free | — | 67 | B |
| Whiteford Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
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. Sylvania Branch is one branch of Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 428,505 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 Sylvania
Does Sylvania have a public library?
Yes: Sylvania Branch, 6749 Monroe St., is a branch of Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, which serves 428,505 people. The branch is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Toledo-Lucas 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 Sylvania’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 11.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Sylvania’s civic life grade?
A Sylvania is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on civic life, #47 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 Sylvania.
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.