Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0Gary’s library runs 4.5 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Gary Public Library serves 64,914 people in and around Gary from 3 locations. Last year it lent 139K books, movies and e-books and logged 170K visits.
What Gary’s library is like
Few programs for a library this size
Gary Public Library offered 289 programs last year, 4.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Gary out-borrows every town next door
At 2.1 loans per resident, Gary leads the five towns here. The closest is Calumet Township, at 2.1. Libraries next door ↓
Most programs are for young children
72% of the 289 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 44 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Gary Public Library holds 767,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
Three places to borrow in Gary
Gary Public Library runs three locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
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 Gary’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Gary is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns, #513 of 571 in Indiana. Gary is graded on two of the three inputs. Gary’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 ($29K–$48K) 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 →
295 community nonprofits are registered in Gary
4.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (180 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 12 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.9%
2.9% of Gary’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 Gary’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Gary Public Library serves 64,914 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
40% of borrowing is digital
139K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 767K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
55,854 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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.
3 places to borrow in Gary
Gary Public Library, 220 W. 5th Avenue, Gary.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Gary? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Gary
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gary cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.3M 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 39,857 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Gary borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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− |
| Lake Station | Lake Station-New Chicago Branch | — | 48 | C |
| Hobart Township | Hobart Branch Library | — | 48 | C+ |
| Hobart | Hobart Branch Library | — | 48 | C+ |
| Ross Township | Lake County Public Library | — | 62 | C+ |
| Merrillville | Lake County Public Library | — | 62 | C+ |
| Ross | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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 Gary
Does Gary have a public library?
Yes. Gary Public Library, 220 W. 5th Avenue, serves 64,914 people in and around Gary (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Gary 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 Gary’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 2.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Gary’s civic life grade?
C− Gary is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns on civic life, #513 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 Gary.
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.