Photo: Sixflashphoto · CC BY-SA 4.0Whitehall’s library is a branch of Columbus Metropolitan Library, which lends more per resident than 95% of systems its size
Whitehall’s library is the Whitehall Branch Library, a branch of Columbus Metropolitan Library, which serves 971,930 people and lent 14M items last year.
Whitehall’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Columbus Metropolitan Library system logs 5.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 9.8 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 95% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 52% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. It’s 31% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Open about 70 hours a week
The Whitehall branch is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
Ohio pays a big share
22% of the budget comes from the state, and 71% 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; Whitehall’s library is a branch of Columbus Metropolitan Library, so they cover the whole system (971,930 people), not just the Whitehall branch.
What’s behind Whitehall’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Whitehall is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns, #785 of 914 in Ohio. Whitehall is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Whitehall’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($39K–$65K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for 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 →
72 community nonprofits are registered in Whitehall
3.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (20 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.4%
5.4% of Whitehall’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 Whitehall’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 175 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Columbus Metropolitan Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Columbus Metropolitan Library serves 971,930 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
14M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,307,097 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 163 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.
Find it
Whitehall Branch Library, 4445 E. Broad St., Whitehall.
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 Columbus Metropolitan Library branch.
New in Whitehall? 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 $2.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Whitehall cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $83M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $212M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $83M 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 658,580 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Whitehall Branch Library is one branch of Columbus Metropolitan Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 971,930 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 Whitehall
Does Whitehall have a public library?
Yes: Whitehall Branch Library, 4445 E. Broad St., is a branch of Columbus Metropolitan Library, which serves 971,930 people. The branch is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Columbus Metropolitan 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 Whitehall’s library?
It logged 5.6 visits and lent 14.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Whitehall’s civic life grade?
C− Whitehall is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns on civic life, #785 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 Whitehall.
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.