Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 4.0Walnut Creek’s library is a branch of Holmes County District Public Library, which lends more per resident than 91% of systems its size
Walnut Creek’s library is the East Branch, a branch of Holmes County District Public Library, which serves 44,677 people and lent 533K items last year.
Walnut Creek’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
88% of the budget comes from the state, and 0% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 63% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 65%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
86% of the 387 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 4.3 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Walnut Creek’s library is a branch of Holmes County District Public Library, so they cover the whole system (44,677 people), not just the Walnut Creek branch.
What’s behind Walnut Creek’s civic life grade
Walnut Creek isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary), its library is a branch of Holmes County District Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it.
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 →
About 6 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 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Holmes County District Public Library serves 44,677 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 94 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Holmes County District Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
533K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
67,686 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
East Branch, 4877 Olde Pump St., Walnut Creek.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Holmes County District Public Library branch.
New in Walnut Creek? 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 $6.24 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Walnut Creek cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 15,786 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. East Branch is one branch of Holmes County District Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 44,677 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 Walnut Creek
Does Walnut Creek have a public library?
Yes: East Branch, 4877 Olde Pump St., is a branch of Holmes County District Public Library, which serves 44,677 people. The branch is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Holmes County District Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Walnut Creek’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 11.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Walnut Creek’s civic life grade?
Walnut Creek isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary), its library is a branch of Holmes County District Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Walnut Creek.
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.