Photo: Nyttend · Public domainLuce Township’s library is a branch of Spencer County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 65% of systems its size
Luce Township’s library is the Parker Branch, a branch of Spencer County Public Library, which serves 8,810 people and lent 60K items last year.
What Luce Township’s library is like
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
The Spencer County Public Library system ran 1,007 programs last year, about 19 a week. That’s 114 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 19,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
74% of the 1,007 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 4.2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
The Spencer County Public Library system spends $146 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (88%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 62% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 79% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; Luce Township’s library is a branch of Spencer County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (8,810 people), not just the Luce Township branch.
What’s behind Luce Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Luce Township is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns. Luce Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Luce Township’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls 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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Luce Township
4.7 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.
6.6%
6.6% of Luce 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 Luce Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 14 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 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Spencer County Public Library serves 8,810 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Spencer County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
60K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
14,512 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Luce Township
Parker Branch, 925 North County Road 900 West, Hatfield.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Spencer County Public Library branch.
New in Luce Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Spencer County Public Library branches in Luce Township
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Luce Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.3M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 2,425 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luce Township | Parker Branch | — | 44 | B− |
| Boon Township | Boonville-Warrick County Public Library | — | 52 | B+ |
| Ohio Township | Spencer County Public Library | — | 55 | B+ |
| Grass Township | Chrisney Branch fine-free | — | 32 | A+ |
| Anderson 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.
- System-wide. Parker Branch is one branch of Spencer County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 8,810 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 Luce Township
Does Luce Township have a public library?
Yes: Parker Branch, 925 North County Road 900 West, is a branch of Spencer County Public Library, which serves 8,810 people. The branch is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Spencer County Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Luce Township’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 6.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Luce Township’s civic life grade?
B− Luce Township is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Luce 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.