Photo: Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0Grabill’s library is a branch of Allen County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 90% of systems its size
Grabill’s library is the Grabill Branch, a branch of Allen County Public Library, which serves 385,410 people and lent 4.6M items last year.
Grabill’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Allen County Public Library system logs 4.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 8.4 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.7 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. It’s 30% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
The Allen County Public Library system spends $95 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 47% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. 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; Grabill’s library is a branch of Allen County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (385,410 people), not just the Grabill branch.
What’s behind Grabill’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Grabill is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns. Grabill is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($50K–$83K) 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 →
2 community nonprofits are registered in Grabill
2.2 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.3%
6.3% of Grabill’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 Grabill’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 111 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Allen County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Allen County Public Library serves 385,410 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
4.6M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,408,115 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 62 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
Grabill Branch, 13521 State Street, Grabill.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Allen County Public Library branch.
New in Grabill? 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 $2.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Grabill cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $37M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $75M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $37M 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 199,223 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Grabill Branch is one branch of Allen County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 385,410 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 Grabill
Does Grabill have a public library?
Yes: Grabill Branch, 13521 State Street, is a branch of Allen County Public Library, which serves 385,410 people. The branch is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Allen 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 Grabill’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 12.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Grabill’s civic life grade?
D Grabill is ahead of 14% 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 Grabill.
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.