Photo: User:OHWiki · Public domainUpper Sandusky’s library logs 8.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Upper Sandusky Community Library serves 11,376 people in and around Upper Sandusky. Last year it lent 112K books, movies and e-books and logged 93K visits.
Upper Sandusky’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
Upper Sandusky Community Library logs 8.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 8.3 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 85% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Ohio pays a big share
41% of the budget comes from the state, and 46% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
79% of the 620 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 6.7 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Upper Sandusky Community Library ran 620 programs last year, about 12 a week. That’s 55 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
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; Upper Sandusky Community Library serves 11,376 people in and around Upper Sandusky, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Upper Sandusky’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Upper Sandusky is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #49 of 914 in Ohio. Upper Sandusky is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Upper Sandusky’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 →
46 community nonprofits are registered in Upper Sandusky
7.0 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.2%
10.2% of Upper Sandusky’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 Sandusky’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 38 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Upper Sandusky Community Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Upper Sandusky Community Library serves 11,376 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
112K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
18,127 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.
Find it
Upper Sandusky Community Library, 301 N. Sandusky Ave., Upper Sandusky.
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 Upper Sandusky Community Library branch.
New in Upper Sandusky? 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 $2.51 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Upper Sandusky cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $714K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $714K 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 4,216 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 Sandusky | Upper Sandusky Community Library fine-free | — | 57 | A |
| Crane Township | Upper Sandusky Community Library fine-free | — | 57 | 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. Upper Sandusky Community Library serves 11,376 people in and around Upper Sandusky, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Upper Sandusky.
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 Sandusky
Does Upper Sandusky have a public library?
Yes. Upper Sandusky Community Library, 301 N. Sandusky Ave., serves 11,376 people in and around Upper Sandusky (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Upper Sandusky Community 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 Sandusky’s library?
It logged 8.2 visits and lent 9.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Upper Sandusky’s civic life grade?
A Upper Sandusky is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on civic life, #49 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 Sandusky.
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.