Photo: Rickofwood · CC BY-SA 3.0Wadsworth’s library runs 84 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Ella M. Everhard Public Library serves 28,621 people in and around Wadsworth. Last year it lent 556K books, movies and e-books and logged 139K visits.
Wadsworth’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 62% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Six times the programs of a typical library its size
Ella M. Everhard Public Library ran 2,402 programs last year, about 46 a week. That’s 84 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 46,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Ella M. Everhard Public Library logs 4.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 17 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 86% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
82% of the 2,402 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 28 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Ohio pays a big share
32% of the budget comes from the state, and 52% 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; Ella M. Everhard Public Library serves 28,621 people in and around Wadsworth, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Wadsworth’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Wadsworth is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #301 of 914 in Ohio. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Wadsworth’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 →
126 community nonprofits are registered in Wadsworth
5.1 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 (32 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.7%
7.7% of Wadsworth’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 Wadsworth’s residents live; 2022.
About 38 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.
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.
Ella M. Everhard Public Library serves 28,621 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 153 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Ella M. Everhard Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
556K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
81,981 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Ella M. Everhard Public Library, 132 Broad St., Wadsworth.
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 Ella M. Everhard Public Library branch.
New in Wadsworth? 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 $3.12 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wadsworth cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.7M 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 23,857 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wadsworth | Ella M. Everhard Public Library fine-free | — | 70 | B+ |
| Wadsworth Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Sharon Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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. Ella M. Everhard Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- System-wide. Ella M. Everhard Public Library serves 28,621 people in and around Wadsworth, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Wadsworth.
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 Wadsworth
Does Wadsworth have a public library?
Yes. Ella M. Everhard Public Library, 132 Broad St., serves 28,621 people in and around Wadsworth (the survey’s count) and is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ella M. Everhard 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 Wadsworth’s library?
It logged 4.9 visits and lent 19.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Wadsworth’s civic life grade?
B+ Wadsworth is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on civic life, #301 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 Wadsworth.
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.