Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Elberfeld’s library is a branch of Boonville-Warrick County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 54% of systems its size
Elberfeld’s library is the Elberfeld Branch Library, a branch of Boonville-Warrick County Public Library, which serves 22,660 people and lent 108K items last year.
The short version on Elberfeld’s library
More library cards than residents
23,249 cards for 22,660 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
Open only about 17 hours a week
The Elberfeld branch keeps short hours: about 17 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
The Boonville-Warrick County Public Library system ran 1,530 programs last year, about 29 a week. That’s 68 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 23,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
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; Elberfeld’s library is a branch of Boonville-Warrick County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (22,660 people), not just the Elberfeld branch.
What’s behind Elberfeld’s civic life grade
Elberfeld isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
About 14 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Boonville-Warrick County Public Library serves 22,660 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Boonville-Warrick County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
108K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
24,908 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Elberfeld Branch Library, 175 Sycamore Street, Elberfeld.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Boonville-Warrick County Public Library branch.
New in Elberfeld? 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 $1.73 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elberfeld cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1M 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 23,249 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Elberfeld Branch Library is one branch of Boonville-Warrick County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 22,660 people it serves.
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 Elberfeld
Does Elberfeld have a public library?
Yes: Elberfeld Branch Library, 175 Sycamore Street, is a branch of Boonville-Warrick County Public Library, which serves 22,660 people. The branch is open about 17 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Boonville-Warrick County 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 Elberfeld’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 4.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Elberfeld’s civic life grade?
Elberfeld isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Elberfeld.
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.