Franklin Township’s library runs 53 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Bell Memorial Public Library serves 3,993 people in and around Franklin Township. Last year it lent 27K books, movies and e-books and drew 2,615 people to its programs.
The short version on Franklin Township’s library
More library cards than residents
4,227 cards for 3,993 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 ↓
A well-funded system
Bell Memorial Public Library spends $119 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 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; Bell Memorial Public Library serves 3,993 people in and around Franklin Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Franklin Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Franklin Township is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns. Franklin Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Franklin Township’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Franklin Township
3.3 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.0%
13.0% of Franklin Township’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 Franklin Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Bell Memorial Public Library serves 3,993 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Bell Memorial Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Visits aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 800 visits against 27K loans, so we leave the count out.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
27K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
7,238 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
Bell Memorial Public Library, 101 West Main Street, Mentone.
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 Bell Memorial Public Library branch.
New in Franklin Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Franklin Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $474K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $455K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $474K 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 4,227 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | Bell Memorial Public Library fine-free | — | 52 | B+ |
| Henry Township | Akron Carnegie Public Library fine-free | — | 49 | A |
| Seward Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Newcastle Township | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
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. Bell Memorial Public Library serves 3,993 people in and around Franklin Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Franklin Township.
- Visits left out. This year’s visit count is far below what the library lends, so we leave it out.
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 Franklin Township
Does Franklin Township have a public library?
Yes. Bell Memorial Public Library, 101 West Main Street, serves 3,993 people in and around Franklin Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bell Memorial 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 Franklin Township’s library?
It lent 6.8 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 212 programs that drew 2,615 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Franklin Township’s civic life grade?
B+ Franklin Township is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Franklin Township.
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.