Photo: Timothy K Hamilton Creativity+ Photography · CC BY 3.0New Harmony’s library runs 167 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
New Harmony Workingmen's Institute serves 1,245 people in and around New Harmony. Last year it lent 2,213 print books and media and logged 9,121 visits.
New Harmony’s library, in brief
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 81% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 21%. The building also logs about 3 Wi-Fi sessions a day. Program attendance beats 94% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
50% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 45%. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
New Harmony Workingmen's Institute serves 1,245 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 44 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 76% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 50% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Programs draw a crowd
4,194 people came to the library’s 208 programs last year: 3.4 per resident, against a typical 0.7, more than at 94% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind New Harmony’s civic life grade
New Harmony isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
About 1 kids’ program a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, 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 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
New Harmony Workingmen's Institute serves 1,245 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at New Harmony Workingmen's Institute
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2,213 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 33K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
New Harmony Workingmen's Institute, 407 West Tavern Street, New Harmony.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in New Harmony? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Harmony cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $262K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $74K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $262K 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 896 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.
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 Harmony
Does New Harmony have a public library?
Yes. New Harmony Workingmen's Institute, 407 West Tavern Street, serves 1,245 people in and around New Harmony (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New Harmony Workingmen's Institute 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 New Harmony’s library?
It logged 7.3 visits and lent 1.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is New Harmony’s civic life grade?
New Harmony isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in New Harmony.
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.