Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHamilton Township’s library runs 29 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Sullivan County Public Library serves 20,817 people in and around Hamilton Township. Last year it lent 39K books, movies and e-books and logged 32K visits.
The short version on Hamilton Township’s library
Well funded, but lightly used
Sullivan County Public Library spends $79 per resident, more than 82% of similar-size libraries. Use doesn’t match: visits per resident are lower than at 78% of them. What your card is worth ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 19% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Sullivan County Public Library serves 20,817 people in and around Hamilton Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Hamilton Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hamilton Township is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #112 of 571 in Indiana. Hamilton Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Hamilton Township’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
55 community nonprofits are registered in Hamilton Township
7.7 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 (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.2%
8.2% of Hamilton 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 Hamilton Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Sullivan County Public Library serves 20,817 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sullivan County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
39K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
13,061 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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
Sullivan County Public Library, 100 South Crowder Street, Sullivan.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sullivan County Public Library branch.
New in Hamilton 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 Hamilton Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $793K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M 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 4,001 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton Township | Sullivan County Public Library fine-free | — | 57 | A− |
| Cass Township | Dugger Public Library fine-free | — | 30 | A− |
| Gill Township | Merom Public Library fine-free | — | 30 | — graded with its twin city |
| Curry Township | Farmersburg Public Library fine-free | — | 30 | B |
| Haddon Township | Carlisle Public Library fine-free | — | 30 | C |
| Jackson Township | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Turman Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
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. Sullivan County Public Library serves 20,817 people in and around Hamilton Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Hamilton Township.
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 Hamilton Township
Does Hamilton Township have a public library?
Yes. Sullivan County Public Library, 100 South Crowder Street, serves 20,817 people in and around Hamilton Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sullivan 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 Hamilton Township’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Hamilton Township’s civic life grade?
A− Hamilton Township is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life, #112 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 Hamilton 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.