Photo: V locity · CC BY-SA 3.0North Liberty’s library is a branch of St. Joseph County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 88% of systems its size
North Liberty’s library is the North Liberty Branch, a branch of St. Joseph County Public Library, which serves 170,799 people and lent 2.1M items last year.
The short version on North Liberty’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
The St. Joseph County Public Library system logs 4.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 7.9 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.2 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. It’s 35% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
The St. Joseph County Public Library system spends $107 per resident a year, about three times the typical $36 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
25% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 70%. 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; North Liberty’s library is a branch of St. Joseph County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (170,799 people), not just the North Liberty branch.
What’s behind North Liberty’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, North Liberty is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. North Liberty is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; North Liberty’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($56K–$94K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in North Liberty
2.7 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.
8.5%
8.5% of North Liberty’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 North Liberty’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 74 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole St. Joseph County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
St. Joseph County Public Library serves 170,799 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2.1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
723,590 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 23 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
North Liberty Branch, 105 East Market Street, North Liberty.
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 St. Joseph County Public Library branch.
New in North Liberty? 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 $1.75 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average North Liberty cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $18M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $32M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $18M 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 72,558 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. North Liberty Branch is one branch of St. Joseph County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 170,799 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 North Liberty
Does North Liberty have a public library?
Yes: North Liberty Branch, 105 East Market Street, is a branch of St. Joseph County Public Library, which serves 170,799 people. The branch is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is St. Joseph 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 North Liberty’s library?
It logged 4.8 visits and lent 12.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is North Liberty’s civic life grade?
C+ North Liberty is ahead of 42% 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 North Liberty.
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.