Photo: Derek Jensen (Tysto) · CC BY 2.0Nappanee’s library logs 8.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Nappanee Public Library serves 10,533 people in and around Nappanee from 2 locations. Last year it lent 135K books, movies and e-books and logged 94K visits.
Nappanee’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
Nappanee Public Library 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
Nappanee Public Library 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
Nappanee Public Library 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; Nappanee Public Library serves 10,533 people in and around Nappanee, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Nappanee’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Nappanee is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #272 of 571 in Indiana. Nappanee is graded on two of the three inputs. Nappanee’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 →
46 community nonprofits are registered in Nappanee
6.8 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 (19 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.9%
5.9% of Nappanee’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 Nappanee’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.
2 places to borrow in Nappanee
Nappanee Public Library, 157 North Main Street, 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 Nappanee? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Nappanee Public Library branches in Nappanee
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 Nappanee 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nappanee | Nappanee Public Library fine-free | — | 56 | B |
| Locke Township | Evelyn Lehman Culp Heritage Collection fine-free | — | 44 | C+ |
| Union Township | Nappanee Public Library fine-free | — | 56 | C+ |
| Scott Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Jefferson 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. Nappanee Public Library serves 10,533 people in and around Nappanee, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Nappanee.
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 Nappanee
Does Nappanee have a public library?
Yes. Nappanee Public Library, 157 North Main Street, serves 10,533 people in and around Nappanee (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 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 Nappanee’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 Nappanee’s civic life grade?
B Nappanee is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on civic life, #272 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 Nappanee.
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.