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West National in downtown BrazilPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
Brazil Public Library

Brazil Township’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size

Brazil Public Library serves 8,604 people in and around Brazil Township. Last year it lent 33K books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.

204 North Walnut Street, Brazil 47834 · about 54 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
33K
3.8 per resident
Visits a year
11K
1.3 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
100
about 2 a week · 2,362 attended
Cardholders
19%
1,648 cards
Open
54 hrs
a week at this branch
Civic life grade

What’s behind Brazil Township’s civic life grade

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

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Brazil Township’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 2 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.3 visits · typical 3Lower than 82%
Borrowing per resident 2.5 print items · typical 3.8Lower than 70%
Digital borrowing 1.3 e-items · typical 1Higher than 61%
Kids’ borrowing 1.1 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 64%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 70%
Programs offered 11.6 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 82%
Cardholders 19% of residents · typical 42%Lower than 87%
Spending $72 per resident · typical $43Higher than 80%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Brazil Public Library serves 8,604 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Brazil Public Library system. The library’s own count.

11K
visits
1.3 per resident
33K
loans, print + digital
3.8 per resident
100
programs & events
2,362 attended
1,648
library cards
19% of people served
Every open hour12items borrowed
Every week45people at a program
Every day11Wi-Fi sessions
9 staff (full-time equivalent)14 public computers
What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

33K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

33Kloans
Books & media (adults) 36%Kids’ books & media 30%E-books, audio & streaming 35%
From your couch

11,366 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 1 kids’ program a week

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

Schools in Brazil Township →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–535
Ages 6–1117
Teens11
Adults33
All ages4
Little ones
0.7

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

9,667
kids’ books & media borrowed
2,362
people at programs
100
programs
The building

Find it

Brazil Public Library, 204 North Walnut Street, Brazil.

54
hours open a week
11,447
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Brazil Public Library branch.

New in Brazil Township? The Handbook →

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

What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

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

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
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
$384
a year at retail prices · $32 a month

Who pays for it
$72 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $624K.

Local taxes 92%State 6%Gifts & other 2%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $519K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $624K 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 1,648 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
Brazil TownshipBrazil Public Library—54— graded with its twin city
BrazilBrazil Public Library—54B−
Dick Johnson TownshipNone of its own——A
Van Buren TownshipNone of its own——B+
KnightsvilleNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
Posey TownshipNone of its own——B+

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).

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • Visits are a typical-week estimate. Brazil Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
  • System-wide. Brazil Public Library serves 8,604 people in and around Brazil Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Brazil Township.

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 Brazil Township

Does Brazil Township have a public library?

Yes. Brazil Public Library, 204 North Walnut Street, serves 8,604 people in and around Brazil Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Brazil Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?

It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Brazil Township’s library?

It logged 1.3 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 Brazil Township’s civic life grade?

Brazil Township 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 Brazil Township.

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.