Furnas Mill Bridge · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBlue River Township’s library runs 9.4 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Edinburgh Wright-Hageman Public Library serves Blue River Township’s 4,244 residents. Last year it lent 16K books, movies and e-books and logged 8,512 visits.
Blue River Township’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
Edinburgh Wright-Hageman Public Library offered 40 programs last year, 9.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Edinburgh Wright-Hageman Public Library holds 29,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. What people borrow ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 3% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 88% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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.
What’s behind Blue River Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Blue River Township is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns, #443 of 571 in Indiana. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($47K–$78K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Blue River Township
3.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.6%
8.6% of Blue River Township’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 9.1% in the typical Indiana 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 Blue River Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Edinburgh Wright-Hageman Public Library serves 4,244 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
16K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 29K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
518 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
40 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Blue River Township last year.
Find it
Edinburgh Wright-Hageman Public Library, 119 West Main Cross Street, Edinburgh.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Blue River Township? 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 $1.12 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Blue River Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $243K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $272K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $243K 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 1,807 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue River Township | Edinburgh Wright-Hageman Public Library fine-free | 3.8 | 48 | C+ |
| Nineveh Township | Cordry-Sweetwater fine-free | — | 9 | B− |
| Jackson Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Needham Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| German Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Amity | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Edinburgh Wright-Hageman Public 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 Blue River Township
Does Blue River Township have a public library?
Yes. Edinburgh Wright-Hageman Public Library, 119 West Main Cross Street, serves Blue River Township’s 4,244 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Edinburgh Wright-Hageman 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 Blue River Township’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 3.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Blue River Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Blue River Township is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns on civic life, #443 of 571 in Indiana. 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 Blue River Township.
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.