Photo: Derek Jensen (Tysto) · Public domainDecatur’s library logs 18 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Adams Public Library System serves 11,170 people in and around Decatur. Last year it lent 184K print books and media and logged 200K visits.
The short version on Decatur’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
Adams Public Library System logs 18 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 16 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 98% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 73% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Adams Public Library System ran 622 programs last year, about 12 a week. That’s 56 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Adams Public Library System spends $98 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (87%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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; Adams Public Library System serves 11,170 people in and around Decatur, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Decatur’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Decatur is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns, #362 of 571 in Indiana. Decatur is graded on two of the three inputs. Decatur’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 →
68 community nonprofits are registered in Decatur
7.0 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 (24 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.5%
4.5% of Decatur’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 Decatur’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Adams Public Library System system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Adams Public Library System serves 11,170 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
184K 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 5 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
Adams Public Library System, 128 South 3rd Street, Decatur.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Adams Public Library System branch.
New in Decatur? 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 $2.44 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Decatur cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 4,244 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Decatur’s 200,000 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Adams Public Library System serves 11,170 people in and around Decatur, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Decatur.
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 Decatur
Does Decatur have a public library?
Yes. Adams Public Library System, 128 South 3rd Street, serves 11,170 people in and around Decatur (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Adams Public Library System 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 Decatur’s library?
It logged 17.9 visits and lent 16.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Decatur’s civic life grade?
B− Decatur is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns on civic life, #362 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 Decatur.
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.