Busching Covered Bridge · Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 3.0Johnson Township’s library runs 28 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Tyson Library Association, Inc serves 7,820 people in and around Johnson Township. Last year it lent 27K print books and media and logged 24K visits.
The short version on Johnson Township’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
100% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 0%. What your card is worth ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. 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; Tyson Library Association, Inc serves 7,820 people in and around Johnson Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Johnson Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Johnson Township is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #58 of 571 in Indiana. Johnson 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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Johnson Township
4.9 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
13.4%
13.4% of Johnson 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 Johnson Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Tyson Library Association, Inc serves 7,820 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Tyson Library Association, Inc system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
27K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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
Tyson Library Association, Inc, 325 West Tyson Street, Versailles.
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 Tyson Library Association, Inc branch.
New in Johnson 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 $1.89 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Johnson Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $255K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $482K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $255K 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 1,430 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnson Township | Tyson Library Association, Inc fine-free | — | 45 | A |
| Center Township | Osgood Public Library fine-free | — | 46 | A+ |
| Washington Township | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Brown Township | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Shelby Township | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
| Otter Creek Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Delaware 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.
- System-wide. Tyson Library Association, Inc serves 7,820 people in and around Johnson Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Johnson 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 Johnson Township
Does Johnson Township have a public library?
Yes. Tyson Library Association, Inc, 325 West Tyson Street, serves 7,820 people in and around Johnson Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Tyson Library Association, Inc 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 Johnson Township’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 3.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Johnson Township’s civic life grade?
A Johnson Township is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #58 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 Johnson 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.