Photo: Mikehallna · CC BY-SA 4.0New Albany’s library runs 19 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
New Albany-Floyd County Public Library serves 80,484 people in and around New Albany from 3 locations. Last year it lent 440K books, movies and e-books and logged 191K visits.
New Albany’s library, in brief
The branch is a National Register landmark
New Albany-Floyd County Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2022. Today’s library there has 51,000 square feet. The buildings ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 68% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 58% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
45% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 45% of loans, more per resident than at 81% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 55%, much of it kids’ books. 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; New Albany-Floyd County Public Library serves 80,484 people in and around New Albany, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind New Albany’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, New Albany is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #135 of 571 in Indiana. New Albany is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; New Albany’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 →
188 community nonprofits are registered in New Albany
5.0 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 (59 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.1%
9.1% of New Albany’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 New Albany’s residents live; 2022.
About 9 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 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
New Albany-Floyd County Public Library serves 80,484 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 37 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole New Albany-Floyd County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
45% of borrowing is digital
440K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
198,195 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
A National Register landmark since 2022
New Albany-Floyd County Public Library, 180 West Spring Street, New Albany.
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 New Albany-Floyd County Public Library branch.
New in New Albany? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
New Albany-Floyd County Public Library
New Albany-Floyd County Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Aug 23, 2022. It is significant for its architecture and education at the local level.
More about the building →Other New Albany-Floyd County Public Library branches in New Albany
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.94 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Albany cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.6M 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 35,295 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Albany | New Albany-Floyd County Public Library fine-free | — | 60 | A− |
| New Albany Township | New Albany-Floyd County Public Library fine-free | — | 60 | B+ |
| Jeffersonville Township | Jeffersonville Township Public Library fine-free | — | 60 | C |
| Louisville | Louisville Free Public Library fine-free | — | 68 | C+ |
| Clarksville | Clarksville Branch Library fine-free | — | 60 | C− |
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. New Albany-Floyd County Public Library serves 80,484 people in and around New Albany, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just New Albany.
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 New Albany
Does New Albany have a public library?
Yes. New Albany-Floyd County Public Library, 180 West Spring Street, serves 80,484 people in and around New Albany (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New Albany-Floyd County 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 New Albany’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 5.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is New Albany’s civic life grade?
A− New Albany is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on civic life, #135 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 New Albany.
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. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.