Photo: Nyttend · Public domainZanesfield’s library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Dr. Earl S. Sloan Library serves Zanesfield’s 194 residents. Last year it lent 2,191 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,756 visits.
The short version on Zanesfield’s library
More library cards than residents
234 cards for 194 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Zanesfield uses its library more than almost any town its size
Dr. Earl S. Sloan Library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Dr. Earl S. Sloan Library serves 194 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 30 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Zanesfield invests in its library
Dr. Earl S. Sloan Library spends $468 per resident a year, about nine times the typical $54 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 44% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Zanesfield’s civic life grade
Zanesfield 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Dr. Earl S. Sloan Library serves 194 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2,191 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
25 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, 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
Dr. Earl S. Sloan Library, 2817 Sandusky St., Zanesfield.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting.
New in Zanesfield? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Zanesfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $91K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $33K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $91K 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 234 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Dr. Earl S. Sloan Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Zanesfield
Does Zanesfield have a public library?
Yes. Dr. Earl S. Sloan Library, 2817 Sandusky St., serves Zanesfield’s 194 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dr. Earl S. Sloan Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Zanesfield’s library?
It logged 14.2 visits and lent 11.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Zanesfield’s civic life grade?
Zanesfield 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 Zanesfield.
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.