John McSweeney House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainWooster’s library lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries its size
Wayne County Public Library serves 105,271 people in and around Wooster. Last year it lent 2M books, movies and e-books and logged 368K visits.
Wooster’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 55% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Wayne County Public Library logs 3.5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 15 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 85% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Wayne County Public Library ran 2,935 programs last year, about 56 a week. That’s 28 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 75,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Ohio pays a big share
49% of the budget comes from the state, and 43% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.5 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. It’s 18% of all loans. 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 County Public Library serves 105,271 people in and around Wooster, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Wooster’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Wooster is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #61 of 914 in Ohio. Wooster is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Wooster’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
233 community nonprofits are registered in Wooster
8.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (32 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.2%
9.2% of Wooster’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 Wooster’s residents live; 2022.
About 31 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 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Wayne County Public Library serves 105,271 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 109 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Wayne County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
366,716 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 County Public Library, 220 W. Liberty St., Wooster.
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 County Public Library branch.
New in Wooster? 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 $4.53 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wooster cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $6.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.5M 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 42,336 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wooster | Wayne County Public Library fine-free | — | 59 | A |
| Wooster Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Wayne Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Franklin Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
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. Wayne County Public Library serves 105,271 people in and around Wooster, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Wooster.
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 Wooster
Does Wooster have a public library?
Yes. Wayne County Public Library, 220 W. Liberty St., serves 105,271 people in and around Wooster (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wayne 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 Wooster’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 18.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Wooster’s civic life grade?
A Wooster is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #61 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 Wooster.
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.