Photo: TheSongbook · CC BY-SA 3.0Carmel’s library lends 16 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Carmel Clay Public Library serves 99,093 people in and around Carmel from 2 locations. Last year it lent 2.2M books, movies and e-books and logged 585K visits.
The short version on Carmel’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 63% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Carmel Clay Public Library logs 5.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 16 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 92% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 6.1 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. It’s 28% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
72% of the 1,652 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 18 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 65 hours a week
The Carmel branch is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
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; Carmel Clay Public Library serves 99,093 people in and around Carmel, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Carmel’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Carmel is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #89 of 571 in Indiana. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #9. All three 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 →
491 community nonprofits are registered in Carmel
4.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (82 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 26 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.9%
10.9% of Carmel’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 Carmel’s residents live; 2022.
About 23 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Carmel Clay Public Library serves 99,093 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 354 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Carmel Clay Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2.2M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
607,162 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Carmel
Carmel Clay Public Library, 425 East Main Street, Carmel.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Carmel Clay Public Library branch.
New in Carmel? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Carmel Clay Public Library branches in Carmel
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.92 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Carmel cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $8.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $34M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.7M 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 65,403 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zionsville | Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library fine-free | 26.1 | 64 | A |
| Carmel | Carmel Clay Public Library fine-free | — | 65 | A |
| Clay Township | Carmel Clay Public Library fine-free | — | 65 | A |
| Delaware Township | Fishers Library fine-free | — | 68 | B+ |
| Fishers | Fishers Library fine-free | — | 68 | B+ |
| Washington Township | Glendale Branch Library fine-free | — | 61 | A |
| Indianapolis | Indianapolis Public Library fine-free | — | 54 | B− |
| Noblesville Township | Hamilton East Public Library fine-free | — | 68 | — graded with its twin city |
| Noblesville | Hamilton East Public Library fine-free | — | 68 | B+ |
| Westfield | Westfield-Washington Public Library fine-free | — | 57 | B |
| Westfield Washington Township | Westfield-Washington Public Library fine-free | — | 57 | 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).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Carmel Clay Public Library serves 99,093 people in and around Carmel, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Carmel.
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 Carmel
Does Carmel have a public library?
Yes. Carmel Clay Public Library, 425 East Main Street, serves 99,093 people in and around Carmel (the survey’s count) and is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Carmel Clay 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 Carmel’s library?
It logged 5.9 visits and lent 21.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Carmel’s civic life grade?
A Carmel is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #89 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 Carmel.
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.