Center Township’s library is a branch of Bloomfield-Eastern Greene County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 52% of systems its size
Center Township’s library is the Eastern Branch, a branch of Bloomfield-Eastern Greene County Public Library, which serves 13,835 people and lent 97K items last year.
What Center Township’s library is like
Most programs are for young children
77% of the 230 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.6 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
41% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 41% of loans, more per resident than at 86% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 59%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 11% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 61% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 65% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; Center Township’s library is a branch of Bloomfield-Eastern Greene County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (13,835 people), not just the Center Township branch.
What’s behind Center Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Center Township is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #96 of 571 in Indiana. Center 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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Center Township
4.1 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
15.1%
15.1% of Center 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 Center Township’s residents live; 2022.
41% of borrowing is digital
97K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
39,669 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Bloomfield-Eastern Greene County Public Library serves 13,835 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Bloomfield-Eastern Greene County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 3 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
Eastern Branch, 11453 East State Road 54, Bloomfield.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Bloomfield-Eastern Greene County Public Library branch.
New in Center 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 $2.70 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Center Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $554K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $554K 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 1,589 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center Township | Eastern Branch | — | 33 | A |
| Richland Township | Bloomfield-Eastern Greene County Public Library | — | 45 | A+ |
| Beech Creek Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Indian Creek Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Solsberry | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Jackson Township | None of its own | — | — | A |
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. Eastern Branch is one branch of Bloomfield-Eastern Greene County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 13,835 people it serves.
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 Center Township
Does Center Township have a public library?
Yes: Eastern Branch, 11453 East State Road 54, is a branch of Bloomfield-Eastern Greene County Public Library, which serves 13,835 people. The branch is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bloomfield-Eastern Greene County 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 Center Township’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 7.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Center Township’s civic life grade?
A Center Township is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on civic life, #96 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 Center 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.