Photo: Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0Oakland City’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Oakland City-Columbia Township Public Library serves 6,343 people in and around Oakland City. Last year it lent 15K print books and media and logged 8,037 visits.
The short version on Oakland City’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Oakland City-Columbia Township Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
64% of the 148 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 52 were for children. 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; Oakland City-Columbia Township Public Library serves 6,343 people in and around Oakland City, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Oakland City’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Oakland City is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. Oakland City is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 Oakland City
4.7 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
16.4%
16.4% of Oakland City’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 Oakland City’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Oakland City-Columbia Township Public Library serves 6,343 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Oakland City-Columbia Township Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
15K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Oakland City-Columbia Township Public Library, 210 South Main Street, Oakland City.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Oakland City-Columbia Township Public Library branch.
New in Oakland City? 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 $1.22 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Oakland City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $208K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $254K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $208K 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 1,124 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.
- System-wide. Oakland City-Columbia Township Public Library serves 6,343 people in and around Oakland City, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Oakland City.
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 Oakland City
Does Oakland City have a public library?
Yes. Oakland City-Columbia Township Public Library, 210 South Main Street, serves 6,343 people in and around Oakland City (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Oakland City-Columbia Township 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 Oakland City’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 2.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Oakland City’s civic life grade?
A Oakland City is ahead of 92% 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 Oakland City.
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.