Photo: Nyttend · Public domainWorthington’s library lends 28 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Worthington Public Library serves 66,832 people in and around Worthington. Last year it lent 2.7M books, movies and e-books and logged 681K visits.
The short version on Worthington’s library
More library cards than residents
108,862 cards for 66,832 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 ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Worthington Public Library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 28 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 99% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 48% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 12 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. It’s 30% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Programs are almost all for children
84% of the 1,757 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 24 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Worthington Public Library serves 66,832 people in and around Worthington, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Worthington’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Worthington is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #7 of 914 in Ohio. Worthington is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Worthington near the top nationally; Worthington’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 →
168 community nonprofits are registered in Worthington
11.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (23 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 7 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
13.7%
13.7% of Worthington’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 Worthington’s residents live; 2022.
About 28 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 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Worthington Public Library serves 66,832 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 245 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Worthington Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
2.7M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
812,051 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Old Worthington Library, 820 High St., Worthington.
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 Worthington Public Library branch.
New in Worthington? 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 $3.13 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Worthington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $13M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $13M 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 108,862 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worthington | Old Worthington Library fine-free | — | 70 | A+ |
| Sharon Township | Old Worthington Library fine-free | — | 70 | A+ |
| Perry Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Riverlea | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Worthington Public Library serves 66,832 people in and around Worthington, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Worthington.
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 Worthington
Does Worthington have a public library?
Yes. Worthington Public Library, 820 High St., serves 66,832 people in and around Worthington (the survey’s count) and is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Worthington 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 Worthington’s library?
It logged 10.2 visits and lent 40.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Worthington’s civic life grade?
A+ Worthington is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #7 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 Worthington.
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.