Photo: Nyttend · Public domainConverse’s library runs 7.1 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Converse-Jackson Township Public Library serves 3,828 people in and around Converse. Last year it lent 17K books, movies and e-books and logged 7,007 visits.
Converse’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
Converse-Jackson Township Public Library offered 27 programs last year, 7.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Converse-Jackson Township Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1999. Today’s library there has 2,824 square feet. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 15% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Converse-Jackson Township Public Library serves 3,828 people in and around Converse, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Converse’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Converse is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns. Converse is graded on two of the three inputs. Converse’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Converse
11.1 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.3%
7.3% of Converse’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 Converse’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1999
Converse-Jackson Township Public Library, 108 South Jefferson Street, Converse.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Converse-Jackson Township Public Library branch.
New in Converse? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Converse-Jackson Township Public Library
Converse-Jackson Township Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Mar 12, 1999. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival.
Converse-Jackson Township Public Library is a historic Carnegie library building located at Converse, Indiana. It was built in 1918, as a one-story, Classical Revival style brick and masonry building on a raised basement. It has a low-sloped roof surrounded by a parapet and features an entry flanked by two Doric order limestone columns. It was built with a $9,000 grant from the Carnegie Foundation.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Converse-Jackson Township Public Library serves 3,828 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Converse-Jackson Township Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
17K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,958 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
27 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.40 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Converse cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $177K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $249K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $177K 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 580 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Converse-Jackson Township Public Library serves 3,828 people in and around Converse, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Converse.
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 Converse
Does Converse have a public library?
Yes. Converse-Jackson Township Public Library, 108 South Jefferson Street, serves 3,828 people in and around Converse (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Converse-Jackson Township 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 Converse’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 4.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Converse’s civic life grade?
A− Converse is ahead of 82% 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 Converse.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.