Photo: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives · CC BY 4.0Toledo’s library lends 4.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Toledo Public Library serves Toledo’s 7,101 residents. Last year it lent 34K print books and media and logged 15K visits.
What stands out about Toledo’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Toledo’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Toledo is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #6 of 106 in Oregon. Toledo is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Toledo near the top nationally; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
28 community nonprofits are registered in Toledo
7.9 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.9%
12.9% of Toledo’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.9% in the typical Oregon 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 Toledo’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Toledo Public Library serves 7,101 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
34K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 31K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
About 1 kids’ program a week
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Toledo last year.
Find it
Toledo Public Library, 173 NW 7th St., Toledo.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Toledo? 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 $1.41 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Toledo cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $399K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $562K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $399K 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 3,475 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Toledo
Does Toledo have a public library?
Yes. Toledo Public Library, 173 NW 7th St., serves Toledo’s 7,101 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Toledo Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Toledo’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 4.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Toledo’s civic life grade?
A+ Toledo is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on civic life, #6 of 106 in Oregon. 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 Toledo.
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.