Cass Township’s library logs 1.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Wanatah Public Library serves 1,825 people in and around Cass Township. Last year it lent 7,200 print books and media and logged 3,183 visits.
Cass Township’s library, in brief
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 71% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 74% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 91 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 50 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Wanatah Public Library serves 1,825 people in and around Cass Township, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Cass Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cass Township is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns. Cass 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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Cass Township
5.7 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.8%
10.8% of Cass 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 Cass Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Wanatah Public Library serves 1,825 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Wanatah Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
7,200 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Wanatah Public Library, 114 South Main Street, Wanatah.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Wanatah Public Library branch.
New in Cass 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 $1.27 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cass Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $81K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $102K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $81K 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 1,396 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cass Township | Wanatah Public Library | — | 39 | A |
| Dewey Township | La Crosse Public Library | — | 47 | — graded with its twin city |
| Pleasant Township | Kouts Public Library fine-free | — | 57 | B+ |
| Morgan Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Clinton Township | None 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).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Wanatah Public Library serves 1,825 people in and around Cass Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Cass 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 Cass Township
Does Cass Township have a public library?
Yes. Wanatah Public Library, 114 South Main Street, serves 1,825 people in and around Cass Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wanatah 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 Cass Township’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 3.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Cass Township’s civic life grade?
A Cass Township is ahead of 91% 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 Cass 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.