Jefferson Township’s library runs 117 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library serves 3,207 people in and around Jefferson Township. Last year it lent 51K books, movies and e-books and logged 6,540 visits.
What Jefferson Township’s library is like
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 57% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library ran 375 programs last year, about 7 a week. That’s 117 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 7,363 attended. Kids & programs ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 67%. People come in, pick up their books and go, or skip the trip: 32% of loans are digital. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 5.1 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. It’s 32% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
70% of the 375 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 4.8 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library serves 3,207 people in and around Jefferson Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Jefferson Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Jefferson Township is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #229 of 571 in Indiana. Jefferson Township’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Jefferson Township
5.5 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.5%
9.5% of Jefferson 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 Jefferson Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 5 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library serves 3,207 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
51K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
16,345 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library, 10 West College Street, Hagerstown.
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 Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library branch.
New in Jefferson Township? 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 $2.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Jefferson Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $357K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $813K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $357K 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 1,117 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson Township | Dublin Public Library fine-free | 0.7 | 20 | B− |
| Jefferson Township | Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library fine-free | — | 42 | B |
| Dalton Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Liberty Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Harrison Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Perry Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Clay 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- System-wide. Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library serves 3,207 people in and around Jefferson Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Jefferson 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 Jefferson Township
Does Jefferson Township have a public library?
Yes. Hagerstown-Jefferson Township Public Library, 10 West College Street, serves 3,207 people in and around Jefferson Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hagerstown-Jefferson Township 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 Jefferson Township’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 15.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Jefferson Township’s civic life grade?
B Jefferson Township is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on civic life, #229 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 Jefferson 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.