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Borden Library · part of Charlestown-Clark County Public Library

Borden’s library is a branch of Charlestown-Clark County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 61% of systems its size

Borden’s library is the Borden Library, a branch of Charlestown-Clark County Public Library, which serves 59,624 people and lent 367K items last year.

117 West Main Street, Borden 47106 · about 35 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
367K
6.2 per resident
Visits a year
99K
1.7 per resident · Below typical (2.6)
Programs & events
456
about 9 a week · 10K attended
Cardholders
22%
13,095 cards
Open
35 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about Borden Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Borden’s civic life grade

Borden isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Borden’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.7 visits · typical 2.6Lower than 73%
Borrowing per resident 4.8 print items · typical 3.7Higher than 61%
Digital borrowing 1.4 e-items · typical 1.2Higher than 55%
Kids’ borrowing 1.7 kids’ items · typical 1.7Higher than 50%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.3Lower than 78%
Programs offered 7.6 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Lower than 80%
Cardholders 22% of residents · typical 39%Lower than 83%
Spending $31 per resident · typical $40Lower than 62%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Charlestown-Clark County Public Library serves 59,624 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Charlestown-Clark County Public Library system. The library’s own count.

99K
visits
1.7 per resident
367K
loans, print + digital
6.2 per resident
456
programs & events
10K attended
13K
library cards
22% of people served
Every open hour29items borrowed
Every week194people at a program
Every day22Wi-Fi sessions
22 staff (full-time equivalent)38 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

367K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

367Kloans
Books & media (adults) 51%Kids’ books & media 27%E-books, audio & streaming 22%
From your couch

81,577 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 4 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Borden →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5145
Ages 6–1154
Teens102
Adults146
All ages9
Little ones
2.8

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

100K
kids’ books & media borrowed
10K
people at programs
456
programs
The building

Find it

Borden Library, 117 West Main Street, Borden.

35
hours open a week
2,048
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Charlestown-Clark County Public Library branch.

New in Borden? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.06 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Borden cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
1
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$528
a year at retail prices · $44 a month

Who pays for it
$31 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.9M.

Local taxes 91%State 6%Gifts & other 3%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.9M 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 13,095 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Borden Library is one branch of Charlestown-Clark County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 59,624 people it serves.

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 Borden

Does Borden have a public library?

Yes: Borden Library, 117 West Main Street, is a branch of Charlestown-Clark County Public Library, which serves 59,624 people. The branch is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Charlestown-Clark County 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 Borden’s library?

It logged 1.7 visits and lent 6.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is Borden’s civic life grade?

Borden 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 Borden.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.