Photo: Nyttend · Public domainWashington Township’s library is a branch of Brown County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 76% of systems its size
Washington Township’s library is the Sardinia Branch, a branch of Brown County Public Library, which serves 29,902 people and lent 257K items last year.
Washington Township’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
56% of the budget comes from the state, and 40% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Programs draw a crowd
44,000 people came to the system’s 967 programs last year: 1.5 per resident, against a typical 0.3, more than at 99% of similar-size libraries. 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; Washington Township’s library is a branch of Brown County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (29,902 people), not just the Washington Township branch.
What’s behind Washington Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Washington Township is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns. Washington Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Washington Township
4.2 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.0%
9.0% of Washington Township’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 Washington Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 10 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 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Brown County Public Library serves 29,902 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 34 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Brown County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
257K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
53,360 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Sardinia Branch, 13309 Purdy Rd, Sardinia.
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 Brown County Public Library branch.
New in Washington Township? 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 Washington Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.7M 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 10,436 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Township | Sardinia Branch fine-free | — | 36 | B+ |
| Pike Township | Mt Orab Library fine-free | — | 36 | C+ |
| Mount Orab | Mt Orab Library fine-free | — | 36 | C |
| Franklin Township | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Scott Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Eagle Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Clay Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Lake Waynoka | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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. Sardinia Branch is one branch of Brown County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 29,902 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 Washington Township
Does Washington Township have a public library?
Yes: Sardinia Branch, 13309 Purdy Rd, is a branch of Brown County Public Library, which serves 29,902 people. The branch is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Brown 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 Washington Township’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 8.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Washington Township’s civic life grade?
B+ Washington Township is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Washington Township.
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.