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Oxford Public Library

Oak Grove Township’s library lends 17 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size

Oxford Public Library serves 1,551 people in and around Oak Grove Township. Last year it lent 30K books, movies and e-books and logged 9,123 visits.

201 East Smith Street, Oxford 47971 · about 46 hours a week
ACivic lifeAhead of 88% of U.S. towns. Library visits, nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
30K
19.5 per resident
Visits a year
9,123
5.9 per resident · Above typical (3.5)
Programs & events
462
about 9 a week · 7,569 attended
Cardholders
41%
636 cards
Open
46 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Oak Grove Township’s library is like

Five times the programs of a typical library its size

Oxford Public Library ran 462 programs last year, about 9 a week. That’s 298 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 7,569 attended. Kids & programs ↓

A system of heavy borrowers

Oxford Public Library lends 17 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 96% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓

Kids’ borrowing is a standout

Children’s books and media are 39% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓

A well-funded system

Oxford Public Library spends $143 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (89%) comes from local taxes. 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; Oxford Public Library serves 1,551 people in and around Oak Grove Township, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Oak Grove Township’s civic life grade

On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Oak Grove Township is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Oak Grove Township’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.

A
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Oak Grove Township’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 88%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $42K–$69K (6,483)Ahead of 85%

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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. Oak Grove Township is small (1,597 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

10 community nonprofits are registered in Oak Grove Township

7.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.70 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation21.39 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans42.79 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.70 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.70 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.70 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

8.7%

8.7% of Oak Grove 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 Oak Grove Township’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 5 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Oak Grove Township →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5180
Ages 6–1162
Teens46
Adults26
All ages148
Little ones
3.5

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

10K
kids’ books & media borrowed
7,569
people at programs
462
programs
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 5.9 visits · typical 3.5Higher than 74%
Borrowing per resident 17 print items · typical 3.9Top 10%
Digital borrowing 2.5 e-items · typical 1Higher than 82%
Kids’ borrowing 6.7 kids’ items · typical 1.4Top 10%
Program attendance 4.9 attendees · typical 0.7Top 10%
Programs offered 297.9 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Top 10%
Cardholders 41% of residents · typical 54%Lower than 65%
Spending $143 per resident · typical $54Top 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Oxford Public Library serves 1,551 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Oxford Public Library system. The library’s own count.

9,123
visits
5.9 per resident
30K
loans, print + digital
19.5 per resident
462
programs & events
7,569 attended
636
library cards
41% of people served
Every open hour13items borrowed
Every week146people at a program
Every day7Wi-Fi sessions
3 staff (full-time equivalent)3 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

30K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

30Kloans
Books & media (adults) 53%Kids’ books & media 34%E-books, audio & streaming 13%
From your couch

3,951 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

The building

Find it

Oxford Public Library, 201 East Smith Street, Oxford.

46
hours open a week
2,004
square feet
With a card

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 Oxford Public Library branch.

New in Oak Grove Township? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.42 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Oak Grove Township cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
2
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
1
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
1
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$852
a year at retail prices · $71 a month

Who pays for it
$143 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $222K.

Local taxes 89%State 4%Gifts & other 8%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $539K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $222K 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 636 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
Oak Grove TownshipOxford Public Library fine-free—46A
Bolivar TownshipOtterbein Public Library—40A−
Grant TownshipBoswell-Grant Township Public Library fine-free—33C+
Center TownshipBenton County Public Library fine-free—50A+
Adams TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
Pine TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents

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).

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Oxford Public Library serves 1,551 people in and around Oak Grove Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Oak Grove Township.

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 Oak Grove Township

Does Oak Grove Township have a public library?

Yes. Oxford Public Library, 201 East Smith Street, serves 1,551 people in and around Oak Grove Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Oxford 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 Oak Grove Township’s library?

It logged 5.9 visits and lent 19.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Oak Grove Township’s civic life grade?

A Oak Grove Township is ahead of 88% 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 Oak Grove Township.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.