North Township’s library lends 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Hammond Public Library serves North Township’s 77,879 residents. Last year it lent 148K books, movies and e-books and logged 150K visits.
The short version on North Township’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Hammond Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Open about 64 hours a week
Hammond Public Library is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 45 items go out. The buildings ↓
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.
What’s behind North Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, North Township is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns, #541 of 571 in Indiana. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #244. North Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; North Township’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($46K–$77K) 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 →
399 community nonprofits are registered in North Township
2.6 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 (173 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 26 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.9%
5.9% of North Township’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 Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Hammond Public Library serves 77,879 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 45 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
148K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 166K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
46,731 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 kids’ programs 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in North Township last year.
6 places to borrow in North Township
Hammond Public Library, 564 State Street, Hammond.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in North Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in North Township
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average North Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.4M 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 29,148 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
North Township ranks 6th of 8 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whiting | Whiting Public Library fine-free | 12.9 | 51 | C− |
| Thornton Township | Homewood Public Library District | 7.5 | 67 | D |
| Chicago | Chicago Public Library fine-free | 3.9 | 72 | C− |
| Calumet Township | Gary Public Library fine-free | 2.1 | 60 | C− |
| Gary | Gary Public Library fine-free | 2.1 | 60 | C− |
| North Township | Hammond Public Library | 1.9 | 64 | C− |
| Hammond | Hammond Public Library | 1.9 | 64 | D− |
| East Chicago | East Chicago Public Library | 0.5 | 60 | D− |
| Highland | Highland Branch Library | — | 48 | B− |
| Griffith | Griffith-Calumet Township Branch | — | 48 | B− |
| Munster | Munster Branch | — | 58 | A− |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Township
Does North Township have a public library?
Yes. Hammond Public Library, 564 State Street, serves North Township’s 77,879 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hammond 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 North Township’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is North Township’s civic life grade?
C− North Township is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns on civic life, #541 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 North Township.
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.