Photo: Publichall · CC BY-SA 3.0Elkhart’s library runs 23 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Elkhart Public Library serves 97,605 people in and around Elkhart from 3 locations. Last year it lent 506K books, movies and e-books and logged 247K visits.
Elkhart’s library, in brief
Programs are almost all for children
85% of the 2,245 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 19 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Elkhart Public Library spends $87 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (88%) 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; Elkhart Public Library serves 97,605 people in and around Elkhart, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Elkhart’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Elkhart is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns, #439 of 571 in Indiana. Elkhart is graded on two of the three inputs. Elkhart’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($38K–$64K) 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 →
226 community nonprofits are registered in Elkhart
4.2 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 (102 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 9 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.9%
5.9% of Elkhart’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 Elkhart’s residents live; 2022.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elkhart cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $8.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.4M 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 45,340 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Elkhart Public Library serves 97,605 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Elkhart Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
506K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
196,231 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 37 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.
3 places to borrow in Elkhart
Elkhart Public Library, 300 South Second Street, Elkhart.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Elkhart Public Library branch.
New in Elkhart? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Elkhart Public Library branches in Elkhart
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elkhart | Elkhart Public Library fine-free | — | 55 | C+ |
| Dunlap | Dunlap Branch Library fine-free | — | 55 | — unincorporated |
| Concord Township | Elkhart Public Library fine-free | — | 55 | C− |
| Washington Township | Bristol-Washington Township Public Library fine-free | — | 43 | C− |
| Simonton Lake | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Baugo Township | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- System-wide. Elkhart Public Library serves 97,605 people in and around Elkhart, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Elkhart.
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 Elkhart
Does Elkhart have a public library?
Yes. Elkhart Public Library, 300 South Second Street, serves 97,605 people in and around Elkhart (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Elkhart 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 Elkhart’s library?
It logged 2.5 visits and lent 5.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Elkhart’s civic life grade?
C+ Elkhart is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns on civic life, #439 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 Elkhart.
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.