Photo: Mpevans · Public domainHanover’s library is a branch of Jefferson County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 51% of systems its size
Hanover’s library is the Jefferson County Public Library Hanover, a branch of Jefferson County Public Library, which serves 33,147 people and lent 178K items last year.
What stands out about Jefferson County Public Library Hanover
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Hanover’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hanover is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #6 of 571 in Indiana. Hanover is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Hanover
7.5 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
19.3%
19.3% of Hanover’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 Hanover’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.
Jefferson County Public Library serves 33,147 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 39 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Jefferson County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
178K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
59,284 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Jefferson County Public Library Hanover, 273 Madison Avenue, Hanover.
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 Jefferson County Public Library branch.
New in Hanover? 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 $1.74 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hanover cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.8M 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 7,351 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Jefferson County Public Library Hanover is one branch of Jefferson County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 33,147 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 Hanover
Does Hanover have a public library?
Yes: Jefferson County Public Library Hanover, 273 Madison Avenue, is a branch of Jefferson County Public Library, which serves 33,147 people. The branch is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jefferson 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 Hanover’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 5.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Hanover’s civic life grade?
A+ Hanover is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #6 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 Hanover.
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.