Brookston’s library runs 52 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Brookston-Prairie Township Public Library serves 3,907 people in and around Brookston. Last year it lent 20K books, movies and e-books and logged 1,741 visits.
Brookston’s library, in brief
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 73% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 74% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
Brookston-Prairie Township Public Library records 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, below 97% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 3.9 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 17% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. 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; Brookston-Prairie Township Public Library serves 3,907 people in and around Brookston, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Brookston’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Brookston is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns. Brookston is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Brookston
3.9 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
14.5%
14.5% of Brookston’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 Brookston’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Brookston-Prairie Township Public Library serves 3,907 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Brookston-Prairie Township Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
20K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
5,234 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
Brookston-Prairie Township Public Library, 111 West 2nd Street, Brookston.
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 Brookston-Prairie Township Public Library branch.
New in Brookston? 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 $1.42 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Brookston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $214K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $303K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $214K 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 665 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Brookston-Prairie Township Public Library serves 3,907 people in and around Brookston, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Brookston.
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 Brookston
Does Brookston have a public library?
Yes. Brookston-Prairie Township Public Library, 111 West 2nd Street, serves 3,907 people in and around Brookston (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Brookston-Prairie Township 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 Brookston’s library?
It logged 0.4 visits and lent 5.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Brookston’s civic life grade?
A− Brookston is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Brookston.
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.