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Monon Commercial Historic Historic DistrictPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
Monon Town & Township Public Library

Monon’s library lends 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size

Monon Town & Township Public Library serves 6,538 people in and around Monon. Last year it lent 12K books, movies and e-books and logged 9,299 visits.

427 North Market Street, Monon 47959 · about 44 hours a week
B+Civic lifeAhead of 71% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
12K
1.8 per resident
Visits a year
9,299
1.4 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
114
about 2 a week · 2,281 attended
Cardholders
10%
651 cards
Open
44 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Monon’s library is like

Monon Town & Township Public Library is used less than most libraries its size

Monon Town & Township Public Library records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. How it compares ↓

Few residents carry a card

Only 10% 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; Monon Town & Township Public Library serves 6,538 people in and around Monon, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Monon’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Monon is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns. Monon is graded on two of the three inputs. Monon’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.

B+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Monon’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 71%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $37K–$62K (4,708)Ahead of 70%

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. Monon is small (1,957 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

13 community nonprofits are registered in Monon

6.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: environment & animals.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.48 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.48 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans10.48 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services20.96 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education20.96 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals31.43 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other31.43 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

7.3%

7.3% of Monon’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 Monon’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.4 visits · typical 3Lower than 80%
Borrowing per resident 1.1 print items · typical 3.8Lower than 88%
Digital borrowing 0.7 e-items · typical 1Lower than 62%
Kids’ borrowing 0.4 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 85%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 63%
Programs offered 17.4 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 75%
Cardholders 10% of residents · typical 42%Bottom 10%
Spending $46 per resident · typical $43Higher than 55%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Monon Town & Township Public Library serves 6,538 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 5 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Monon Town & Township Public Library system. The library’s own count.

9,299
visits
1.4 per resident
12K
loans, print + digital
1.8 per resident
114
programs & events
2,281 attended
651
library cards
10% of people served
Every open hour5items borrowed
Every week44people at a program
Every day2Wi-Fi sessions
4 staff (full-time equivalent)12 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

12K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

12Kloans
Books & media (adults) 37%Kids’ books & media 25%E-books, audio & streaming 38%
From your couch

4,471 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, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Monon →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–532
Ages 6–1136
Teens18
Adults8
All ages20
Little ones
0.6

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

2,883
kids’ books & media borrowed
2,281
people at programs
114
programs
The building

Find it

Monon Town & Township Public Library, 427 North Market Street, Monon.

44
hours open a week
8,140
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Monon Town & Township Public Library branch.

New in Monon? The Handbook →

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

What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Monon cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
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
$384
a year at retail prices · $32 a month

Who pays for it
$46 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $303K.

Local taxes 90%State 4%Gifts & other 6%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $199K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $303K 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 651 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Monon Town & Township Public Library serves 6,538 people in and around Monon, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Monon.

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 Monon

Does Monon have a public library?

Yes. Monon Town & Township Public Library, 427 North Market Street, serves 6,538 people in and around Monon (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Monon Town & 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 Monon’s library?

It logged 1.4 visits and lent 1.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Monon’s civic life grade?

B+ Monon is ahead of 71% 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 Monon.

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.