Locke Township’s library is a branch of Nappanee Public Library, which lends more per resident than 91% of systems its size
Locke Township’s library is the Evelyn Lehman Culp Heritage Collection, a branch of Nappanee Public Library, which serves 10,533 people and lent 135K items last year.
The short version on Locke Township’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Nappanee Public Library system logs 8.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 60% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
The Nappanee Public Library system ran 605 programs last year, about 12 a week. That’s 57 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
The Nappanee Public Library system spends $157 per resident a year, about four times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (92%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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; Locke Township’s library is a branch of Nappanee Public Library, so they cover the whole system (10,533 people), not just the Locke Township branch.
What’s behind Locke Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Locke Township is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns, #412 of 571 in Indiana. Locke Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Locke Township’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($66K–$110K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
19 community nonprofits are registered in Locke Township
4.5 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.9%
5.9% of Locke 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 Locke Township’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 26 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Nappanee Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Nappanee Public Library serves 10,533 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
135K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
24,740 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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
Evelyn Lehman Culp Heritage Collection, 302 W Market St., Nappanee.
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 Nappanee Public Library branch.
New in Locke 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 $1.35 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Locke Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M 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 4,480 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locke Township | Evelyn Lehman Culp Heritage Collection fine-free | — | 44 | C+ |
| Union Township | Nappanee Public Library fine-free | — | 56 | C+ |
| Nappanee | Nappanee Public Library fine-free | — | 56 | B |
| Olive Township | Wakarusa-Olive & Harrison Township Public Library | — | 50 | B− |
| German Township | Bremen Public Library fine-free | — | 60 | B |
| Scott Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Madison Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
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.
- System-wide. Evelyn Lehman Culp Heritage Collection is one branch of Nappanee Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 10,533 people it serves.
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 Locke Township
Does Locke Township have a public library?
Yes: Evelyn Lehman Culp Heritage Collection, 302 W Market St., is a branch of Nappanee Public Library, which serves 10,533 people. The branch is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Nappanee 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 Locke Township’s library?
It logged 8.9 visits and lent 12.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Locke Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Locke Township is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns on civic life, #412 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 Locke 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.