Wayne’s library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Wayne Public Library serves 6,098 people in and around Wayne. Last year it lent 83K books, movies and e-books and logged 9,776 visits.
The short version on Wayne’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 57% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 76%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Ohio pays a big share
48% of the budget comes from the state, and 34% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
71% of the 160 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 30 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 6% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 57% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; Wayne Public Library serves 6,098 people in and around Wayne, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Wayne’s civic life grade
Wayne isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 2 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 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Wayne Public Library serves 6,098 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 40 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Wayne Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
83K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,947 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Wayne Public Library, 137 E. Main St., Wayne.
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 Wayne Public Library branch.
New in Wayne? 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 $4.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wayne cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $285K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $285K 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 2,218 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Wayne Public Library serves 6,098 people in and around Wayne, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Wayne.
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 Wayne
Does Wayne have a public library?
Yes. Wayne Public Library, 137 E. Main St., serves 6,098 people in and around Wayne (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wayne 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 Wayne’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 13.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Wayne’s civic life grade?
Wayne isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Wayne.
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.