Photo: Reporter1998 · Public domainBrownstown Township’s library runs 44 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Brownstown Public Library serves 7,325 people in and around Brownstown Township. Last year it lent 51K books, movies and e-books and logged 12K visits.
What stands out about Brownstown Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Brownstown Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Brownstown Township is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #87 of 571 in Indiana. Brownstown Township 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 →
31 community nonprofits are registered in Brownstown Township
5.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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.
10.3%
10.3% of Brownstown 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 Brownstown Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Brownstown Public Library serves 7,325 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Brownstown Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
51K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
17,910 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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
Brownstown Public Library, 120 East Spring Street, Brownstown.
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 Brownstown Public Library branch.
New in Brownstown 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 $1.62 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Brownstown Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $511K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $827K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $511K 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 1,635 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brownstown Township | Brownstown Public Library fine-free | — | 46 | A |
| Jackson Township | Jackson County Public Library fine-free | — | 54 | B |
| Carr Township | Medora Library fine-free | — | 12 | C |
| Hamilton Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Driftwood Township | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
| Owen Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Washington Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Grassy Fork Township | 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.
- System-wide. Brownstown Public Library serves 7,325 people in and around Brownstown Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Brownstown 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 Brownstown Township
Does Brownstown Township have a public library?
Yes. Brownstown Public Library, 120 East Spring Street, serves 7,325 people in and around Brownstown Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Brownstown 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 Brownstown Township’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 7.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Brownstown Township’s civic life grade?
A Brownstown Township is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #87 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 Brownstown 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.