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Hartford City Public Library

Licking Township’s library runs 7.3 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size

Hartford City Public Library serves Licking Township’s 9,627 residents. Last year it lent 42K books, movies and e-books and logged 30K visits.

314 North High Street, Hartford City 47348 · about 48 hours a week
ACivic lifeAhead of 92% of U.S. towns · #59 of 571 in Indiana. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
42K
4.3 per resident
Visits a year
30K
3.1 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
70
about 1 a week · 1,339 attended
Cardholders
19%
1,866 cards
Open
48 hrs
a week
In brief

Licking Township’s library, in brief

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 ↓

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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Licking Township’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Licking Township is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #59 of 571 in Indiana. Licking 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.

A
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Licking Township’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 92%
FewerMore
Indiana towns we grade (571)Ahead of 90%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $35K–$59K (3,996)Ahead of 90%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Licking Township is small (7,506 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

38 community nonprofits are registered in Licking Township

5.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture20.31 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.10 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans111.48 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services50.64 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health30.42 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals20.21 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other141.81 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

12.9%

12.9% of Licking 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 Licking Township’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

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.

Visits per resident 3.1 visits · typical 3Higher than 51%
Borrowing per resident 3.1 print items · typical 3.8Lower than 60%
Digital borrowing 1.2 e-items · typical 1Higher than 58%
Kids’ borrowing 1.5 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 53%
Program attendance 0.1 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 84%
Programs offered 7.3 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 89%
Cardholders 19% of residents · typical 42%Lower than 86%
Spending $45 per resident · typical $43Higher than 54%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Hartford City Public Library serves 9,627 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

30K
visits
3.1 per resident
42K
loans, print + digital
4.3 per resident
70
programs & events
1,339 attended
1,866
library cards
19% of people served
Every open hour17items borrowed
Every week26people at a program
Every day5Wi-Fi sessions
5 staff (full-time equivalent)4 public computers45K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

42K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

42Kloans
Books & media (adults) 37%Kids’ books & media 35%E-books, audio & streaming 28%
How hard the shelves work
0.7×

Each of the 45K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.

From your couch

11,847 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 1 kids’ program a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Licking Township →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–548
Ages 6–1120
Teens2
Adults0
All ages0
Little ones
0.9

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

Kids’ books
8

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Licking Township last year.

1,339
people at programs
70
programs
The building

Find it

Hartford City Public Library, 314 North High Street, Hartford City.

48
hours open a week
12,732
square feet
45K
books & media
With a card

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 Licking Township? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

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 Licking Township cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
1
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$528
a year at retail prices · $44 a month

Who pays for it
$45 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $436K.

Local taxes 93%State 6%Gifts & other 1%

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.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
Jefferson TownshipUpland Public Library7.630C
Licking TownshipHartford City Public Library fine-free4.348A
Washington TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
Jackson TownshipNone of its own——A+
Union TownshipNone 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).

How to read these numbers

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 Licking Township

Does Licking Township have a public library?

Yes. Hartford City Public Library, 314 North High Street, serves Licking Township’s 9,627 residents (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 Licking Township’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 Licking Township’s civic life grade?

A Licking Township is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #59 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 Licking Township.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.