Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 4.0Hamlet’s library is a branch of Starke County Public Library System, which lends less per resident than 58% of systems its size
Hamlet’s library is the Hamlet Branch, a branch of Starke County Public Library System, which serves 18,762 people and lent 85K items last year.
What stands out about Hamlet Branch
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Hamlet’s civic life grade
Hamlet isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
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.
Starke County Public Library System serves 18,762 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Starke County Public Library System system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
85K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
22,846 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, 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
Hamlet Branch, 6 North Starke Street, Hamlet.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Starke County Public Library System branch.
New in Hamlet? 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 Hamlet cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.5M 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 4,603 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Hamlet Branch is one branch of Starke County Public Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 18,762 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 Hamlet
Does Hamlet have a public library?
Yes: Hamlet Branch, 6 North Starke Street, is a branch of Starke County Public Library System, which serves 18,762 people. The branch is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Starke County Public Library System 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 Hamlet’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 4.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Hamlet’s civic life grade?
Hamlet isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Hamlet.
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.