Hartford City Courthouse Square Historic District · Photo: TwoScarsUp · Public domainHartford City’s library runs 7.3 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Hartford City Public Library serves 9,627 people in and around Hartford City. Last year it lent 42K books, movies and e-books and logged 30K visits.
The short version on Hartford City’s library
Programs are almost all for children
97% of the 70 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 48 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Hartford City Public Library offered 70 programs last year, 7.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Hartford City Public Library serves more than Hartford City
The library’s service area covers 9,627 people in and around Hartford City, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. 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.
What’s behind Hartford City’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hartford City is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #53 of 571 in Indiana. Hartford City 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 →
30 community nonprofits are registered in Hartford City
5.2 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.9%
12.9% of Hartford City’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 Hartford City’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Hartford City Public Library serves 9,627 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
42K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 45K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
11,847 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
Find it
Hartford City Public Library, 314 North High Street, Hartford City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hartford City? 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 $1.45 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hartford City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $436K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $633K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $436K 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 1,866 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Hartford City
Does Hartford City have a public library?
Yes. Hartford City Public Library, 314 North High Street, serves 9,627 people in and around Hartford City (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hartford City 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 Hartford City’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 4.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hartford City’s civic life grade?
A Hartford City is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #53 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 Hartford City.
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.