Photo: Nyttend · Public domainWashington Township’s library lends 19 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Washington-Centerville Public Library serves 59,771 people in and around Washington Township from 3 locations. Last year it lent 1.6M books, movies and e-books and logged 366K visits.
Washington Township’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
Washington-Centerville Public Library logs 6.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 19 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 93% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More library cards than residents
61,722 cards for 59,771 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 ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 8.4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. It’s 31% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 47% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Washington-Centerville Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. Four of the six libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. 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; Washington-Centerville Public Library serves 59,771 people in and around Washington Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Washington Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Washington Township is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #328 of 914 in Ohio. Library visits hold the grade up; Washington Township’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 →
184 community nonprofits are registered in Washington Township
2.9 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 (40 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 9 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.7%
9.7% 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 12 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 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Washington-Centerville Public Library serves 59,771 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 199 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Washington-Centerville Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
1.6M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
501,745 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 Washington Township
Washington-Centerville Public Library, 111 W. Spring Valley Road, Centerville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Washington-Centerville 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.
Other Washington-Centerville Public Library branches in Washington Township
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.19 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 $7.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $24M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $7.6M 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 61,722 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 | Washington-Centerville Public Library | — | 62 | B+ |
| Kettering | Wilmington-Stroop Branch fine-free | — | 59 | B− |
| Centerville | Washington-Centerville Public Library | — | 62 | B |
| Miami Township | Miami Township Branch fine-free | — | 59 | B− |
| Bellbrook | Winters Branch Library | — | 56 | A |
| Springboro | Springboro Branch fine-free | — | 64 | A |
| Clear Creek Township | Springboro Branch fine-free | — | 64 | B |
| Sugarcreek Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
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. Washington-Centerville Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- System-wide. Washington-Centerville Public Library serves 59,771 people in and around Washington Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Washington Township.
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. Washington-Centerville Public Library, 111 W. Spring Valley Road, serves 59,771 people in and around Washington Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Washington-Centerville 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 Washington Township’s library?
It logged 6.1 visits and lent 27.4 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 71% of U.S. towns on civic life, #328 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 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.