Photo: Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0New Palestine’s library is a branch of Hancock County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 89% of systems its size
New Palestine’s library is the Sugar Creek Branch, a branch of Hancock County Public Library, which serves 64,225 people and lent 900K items last year.
What New Palestine’s library is like
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Hancock County Public Library system logs 7.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 9.7 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 89% 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 56% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.3 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. It’s 30% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Open about 64 hours a week
The New Palestine branch is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 749 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 7.1 a week for ages 0–5. 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; New Palestine’s library is a branch of Hancock County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (64,225 people), not just the New Palestine branch.
What’s behind New Palestine’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, New Palestine is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #353 of 571 in Indiana. New Palestine is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; New Palestine’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in New Palestine
3.2 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.
8.4%
8.4% of New Palestine’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 Palestine’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 115 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hancock County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Hancock County Public Library serves 64,225 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
900K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
273,944 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 10 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.
Find it
Sugar Creek Branch, 5731 West Us 52, New Palestine.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Hancock County Public Library branch.
New in New Palestine? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.34 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Palestine cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $5.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $13M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.6M 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 19,910 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Sugar Creek Branch is one branch of Hancock County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 64,225 people it serves.
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 Palestine
Does New Palestine have a public library?
Yes: Sugar Creek Branch, 5731 West Us 52, is a branch of Hancock County Public Library, which serves 64,225 people. The branch is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hancock County 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 New Palestine’s library?
It logged 7.7 visits and lent 14.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is New Palestine’s civic life grade?
B− New Palestine is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on civic life, #353 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 Palestine.
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.