Photo: Postdlf · CC BY-SA 3.0Upper Arlington’s library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Upper Arlington Public Library serves Upper Arlington’s 36,298 residents from 3 locations. Last year it lent 1.5M books, movies and e-books and logged 470K visits.
What Upper Arlington’s library is like
Upper Arlington uses its library more than almost any town its size
Upper Arlington Public Library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 31 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 99% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More library cards than residents
36,491 cards for 36,298 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 40% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 44 items per child in Upper Arlington last year. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 10 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. It’s 25% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Ohio pays a big share
33% of the budget comes from the state, and 56% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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.
What’s behind Upper Arlington’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Upper Arlington is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns, #167 of 914 in Ohio. Library visits hold the grade up; Upper Arlington’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
113 community nonprofits are registered in Upper Arlington
3.1 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. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
11.0%
11.0% of Upper Arlington’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 Upper Arlington’s residents live; 2022.
About 17 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Upper Arlington last year.
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.
Upper Arlington Public Library serves 36,298 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 160 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1.5M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 334K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.4 times last year, on average.
370,102 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
3 places to borrow in Upper Arlington
Upper Arlington Public Library, 2800 Tremont Rd., Upper Arlington.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Upper Arlington? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Upper Arlington
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.31 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Upper Arlington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $7.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $24M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $7.2M 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 36,491 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Arlington | Upper Arlington Public Library fine-free | 41.3 | 60 | A− |
| Norwich Township | Hilliard Branch Library fine-free | — | 70 | A− |
| Perry Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Marble Cliff | 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. Upper Arlington Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Upper Arlington
Does Upper Arlington have a public library?
Yes. Upper Arlington Public Library, 2800 Tremont Rd., serves Upper Arlington’s 36,298 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Upper Arlington 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 Upper Arlington’s library?
It logged 13.0 visits and lent 41.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Upper Arlington’s civic life grade?
A− Upper Arlington is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns on civic life, #167 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 Upper Arlington.
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.