Photo: Sea Cow · CC BY-SA 4.0East Chicago’s library runs 48 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
East Chicago Public Library serves 26,370 people in and around East Chicago from 2 locations. Last year it lent 13K books, movies and e-books and logged 47K visits.
The short version on East Chicago’s library
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
East Chicago Public Library ran 1,278 programs last year, about 25 a week. That’s 48 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 18,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Every town next door borrows more
East Chicago’s library lends 0.5 items per resident. Each of the five neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Whiting at 13. Libraries next door ↓
Well funded, but lightly used
East Chicago Public Library spends $159 per resident, more than 97% of similar-size libraries. Use doesn’t match: visits per resident are lower than at 70% of them. What your card is worth ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
East Chicago Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. Three of the five libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
East Chicago Public Library lends 0.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, fewer than 98% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. 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.
What’s behind East Chicago’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, East Chicago is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns, #569 of 571 in Indiana. East Chicago is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; East Chicago’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($32K–$53K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
62 community nonprofits are registered in East Chicago
2.4 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 (46 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.7%
2.7% of East Chicago’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 East Chicago’s residents live; 2022.
About 7 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
East Chicago Public Library serves 26,370 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
43% of borrowing is digital
13K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 142K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
5,582 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in East Chicago
East Chicago Public Library, 2401 East Columbus Drive, East Chicago.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in East Chicago? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in East Chicago
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average East Chicago cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $402K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.2M 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 21,836 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
East Chicago ranks 6th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whiting | Whiting Public Library fine-free | 12.9 | 51 | C− |
| Gary | Gary Public Library fine-free | 2.1 | 60 | C− |
| Calumet Township | Gary Public Library fine-free | 2.1 | 60 | C− |
| North Township | Hammond Public Library | 1.9 | 64 | C− |
| Hammond | Hammond Public Library | 1.9 | 64 | D− |
| East Chicago | East Chicago Public Library | 0.5 | 60 | D− |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 East Chicago
Does East Chicago have a public library?
Yes. East Chicago Public Library, 2401 East Columbus Drive, serves 26,370 people in and around East Chicago (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is East Chicago 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 East Chicago’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 0.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is East Chicago’s civic life grade?
D− East Chicago is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns on civic life, #569 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 East Chicago.
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.