Montpelier Carnegie Library · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMontpelier’s library logs 1.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Montpelier-Harrison Township Public Library serves 2,353 people in and around Montpelier. Last year it lent 5,681 print books and media and logged 4,381 visits.
The short version on Montpelier’s library
Programs are almost all for children
92% of the 113 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Montpelier-Harrison Township Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Montpelier Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2007. Today’s library there has 6,880 square feet. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 19% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 54% 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; Montpelier-Harrison Township Public Library serves 2,353 people in and around Montpelier, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Montpelier’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Montpelier is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. Montpelier is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Montpelier’s count of community nonprofits 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 Montpelier
11.7 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.1%
11.1% of Montpelier’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 Montpelier’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 2007
Montpelier-Harrison Township Public Library, 301 South Main Street, Montpelier.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Montpelier-Harrison Township Public Library branch.
New in Montpelier? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Montpelier Carnegie Library
Montpelier Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jun 22, 2007. It is significant for its architecture and education at the local level. Its architecture is described as 19th and 20th Century Revivals and Classical Revival.
Montpelier Carnegie Library, also known as the Public Library of Montpelier and Harrison Township, is a historic Carnegie library located at Montpelier, Indiana. It was built in 1908, and is a one-story, rectangular, brick and limestone building. A brick addition was erected in 1992. Its construction was funded with $10,000 from Andrew Carnegie. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Montpelier-Harrison Township Public Library serves 2,353 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Montpelier-Harrison Township Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
5,681 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.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Montpelier cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $140K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $91K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $140K 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 437 cardholders ÷ 12.
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. Montpelier-Harrison Township Public Library serves 2,353 people in and around Montpelier, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Montpelier.
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 Montpelier
Does Montpelier have a public library?
Yes. Montpelier-Harrison Township Public Library, 301 South Main Street, serves 2,353 people in and around Montpelier (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Montpelier-Harrison Township 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 Montpelier’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 2.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Montpelier’s civic life grade?
A+ Montpelier is ahead of 98% 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 Montpelier.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.