Center Township’s library runs 41 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Benton County Public Library serves 4,187 people in and around Center Township. Last year it lent 14K print books and media and logged 14K visits.
What stands out about Benton County Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Center Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Center Township is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #23 of 571 in Indiana. Center Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Center Township’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
29 community nonprofits are registered in Center Township
10.5 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.4%
10.4% 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Benton County Public Library serves 4,187 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Benton County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
14K 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
Benton County Public Library, 102 North Van Buren Avenue, Fowler.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Benton 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.
What a library card is 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 $279K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $255K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $279K 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 1,009 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 | Benton County Public Library fine-free | — | 50 | A+ |
| Richland Township | Earl Park-Richland Township Public Library | — | 25 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Oak Grove Township | Oxford Public Library fine-free | — | 46 | A |
| Union Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Pine Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Parish Grove 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Benton County Public Library serves 4,187 people in and around Center Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Center 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 Center Township
Does Center Township have a public library?
Yes. Benton County Public Library, 102 North Van Buren Avenue, serves 4,187 people in and around Center Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Benton County 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 Center Township’s library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 3.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Center Township’s civic life grade?
A+ Center Township is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on civic life, #23 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.