Elkhart’s library runs 44 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Elkhart Public Library District serves 841 people in and around Elkhart. Last year it lent 2,853 print books and media and logged 2,541 visits.
Elkhart’s library, in brief
A small-town library
Elkhart Public Library District serves 841 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 40 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 ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 15% of the people Elkhart Public Library District serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
Elkhart Public Library District serves more than Elkhart
The library’s service area covers 841 people in and around Elkhart, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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 Elkhart’s civic life grade
Elkhart 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Elkhart Public Library District serves 841 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
2,853 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Elkhart’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
37 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
Elkhart Public Library District, 121 East Bohan Street, Elkhart.
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 Elkhart cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $85K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $51K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $85K 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 125 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. Illinois libraries often don’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 Elkhart
Does Elkhart have a public library?
Yes. Elkhart Public Library District, 121 East Bohan Street, serves 841 people in and around Elkhart (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Elkhart Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Elkhart’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 3.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Elkhart’s civic life grade?
Elkhart 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 Elkhart.
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.