Harmony Township’s library runs 167 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
New Harmony Workingmen's Institute serves Harmony Township’s 1,245 residents. Last year it lent 2,213 print books and media and logged 9,121 visits.
What Harmony Township’s library is like
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 81% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 21%. The building also logs about 3 Wi-Fi sessions a day. Program attendance beats 94% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
50% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 45%. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
New Harmony Workingmen's Institute serves 1,245 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 44 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 76% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 50% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Programs draw a crowd
4,194 people came to the library’s 208 programs last year: 3.4 per resident, against a typical 0.7, more than at 94% 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Harmony Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Harmony Township is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. Harmony Township 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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Harmony Township
7.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
17.1%
17.1% of Harmony 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 Harmony Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Harmony Township last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
New Harmony Workingmen's Institute serves 1,245 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at New Harmony Workingmen's Institute
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2,213 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 33K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
New Harmony Workingmen's Institute, 407 West Tavern Street, New Harmony.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Harmony 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 Harmony Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $262K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $74K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $262K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 896 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harmony Township | New Harmony Workingmen's Institute | 1.8 | 44 | A+ |
| Robb Township | Poseyville Carnegie Public Library | — | 44 | A |
| Hawthorne Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Phillips Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Lynn Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Center Township | None of its own | — | — | A |
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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Harmony Township
Does Harmony Township have a public library?
Yes. New Harmony Workingmen's Institute, 407 West Tavern Street, serves Harmony Township’s 1,245 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New Harmony Workingmen's Institute fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Harmony Township’s library?
It logged 7.3 visits and lent 1.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Harmony Township’s civic life grade?
A+ Harmony Township is among the top 1% 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 Harmony 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.