Photo: Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0Galena’s library is a branch of New Albany-Floyd County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 59% of systems its size
Galena’s library is the Galena Digital Branch, a branch of New Albany-Floyd County Public Library, which serves 80,484 people and lent 440K items last year.
What Galena’s library is like
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 68% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 58% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
45% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 45% of loans, more per resident than at 81% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 55%, much of it kids’ books. 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; Galena’s library is a branch of New Albany-Floyd County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (80,484 people), not just the Galena branch.
What’s behind Galena’s civic life grade
Galena isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of New Albany-Floyd County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 →
Volunteering in Galena
Galena is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
9.1%
9.1% of Galena’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 Galena’s residents live; 2022.
About 9 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 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
New Albany-Floyd County Public Library serves 80,484 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 37 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole New Albany-Floyd County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
45% of borrowing is digital
440K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
198,195 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Galena Digital Branch, 6956 Us-150, Floyds Knobs.
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 New Albany-Floyd County Public Library branch.
New in Galena? 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 $1.94 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Galena cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.6M 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 35,295 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galena | Galena Digital Branch fine-free | — | 50 | — unincorporated |
| Greenville Township | Galena Digital Branch fine-free | — | 50 | B− |
| Lafayette Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
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. Galena Digital Branch is one branch of New Albany-Floyd County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 80,484 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 Galena
Does Galena have a public library?
Yes: Galena Digital Branch, 6956 Us-150, is a branch of New Albany-Floyd County Public Library, which serves 80,484 people. The branch is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New Albany-Floyd County 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 Galena’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 5.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Galena’s civic life grade?
Galena isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of New Albany-Floyd County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Galena.
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.