Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0Evansville’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Evansville Public Library serves Evansville’s 547 residents. Last year it lent 414 print books and media and logged 719 visits.
The short version on Evansville’s library
Evansville Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Evansville Public Library records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $19 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Open only about 15 hours a week
Evansville Public Library keeps short hours: about 15 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The buildings ↓
A small-town library
Evansville Public Library serves 547 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 programs for a library this size
Evansville Public Library offered 4 programs last year, 7.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Evansville Public Library spends $19 per resident, less than 92% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). What your card is worth ↓
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 Evansville’s civic life grade
Evansville 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Evansville Public Library serves 547 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Evansville Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
414 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 Evansville’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 time last year, on average.
4 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.
2 places to borrow in Evansville
Evansville Public Library, 602 Public Street, Evansville.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Evansville
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Evansville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $10K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8,008 worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $10K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 158 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 Evansville
Does Evansville have a public library?
Yes. Evansville Public Library, 602 Public Street, serves Evansville’s 547 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 15 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Evansville Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Evansville’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 0.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Evansville’s civic life grade?
Evansville 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 Evansville.
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.