Carroll County Courthouse · Photo: Publichall at en.wikipedia · Public domainDelphi’s library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Delphi Public Library serves 7,783 people in and around Delphi. Last year it lent 91K books, movies and e-books and logged 89K visits.
Delphi’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
Delphi Public Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 9 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More library cards than residents
7,757 cards for 7,783 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 42% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.7 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. It’s 23% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
Delphi Public Library spends $107 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (92%) 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; Delphi Public Library serves 7,783 people in and around Delphi, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Delphi’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Delphi is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #115 of 571 in Indiana. Delphi is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Delphi’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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Delphi
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.
9.0%
9.0% of Delphi’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 Delphi’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Delphi Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Delphi Public Library serves 7,783 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
91K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
21,071 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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
Delphi Public Library, 222 East Main Street, Delphi.
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 Delphi Public Library branch.
New in Delphi? 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 $2.10 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Delphi cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $832K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $832K 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 7,757 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Delphi Public Library serves 7,783 people in and around Delphi, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Delphi.
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 Delphi
Does Delphi have a public library?
Yes. Delphi Public Library, 222 East Main Street, serves 7,783 people in and around Delphi (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Delphi 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 Delphi’s library?
It logged 11.5 visits and lent 11.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Delphi’s civic life grade?
A− Delphi is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life, #115 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 Delphi.
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.