Photo: Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0Owensville’s library runs 114 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Owensville Carnegie Public Library serves 4,072 people in and around Owensville. Last year it lent 25K books, movies and e-books and logged 13K visits.
The short version on Owensville’s library
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Owensville Carnegie Public Library ran 463 programs last year, about 9 a week. That’s 114 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
48% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 48% of loans, more per resident than at 88% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 52%. What people borrow ↓
Programs lean toward adults
51% of the 463 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 172 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; Owensville Carnegie Public Library serves 4,072 people in and around Owensville, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Owensville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Owensville is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns. Owensville 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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Owensville
4.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
15.6%
15.6% of Owensville’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 Owensville’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Owensville Carnegie Public Library serves 4,072 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Owensville Carnegie Public Library system. The library’s own count.
48% of borrowing is digital
25K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
11,883 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Owensville Carnegie Public Library, 110 South Main Street, Owensville.
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 Owensville Carnegie Public Library branch.
New in Owensville? 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 $1.61 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Owensville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $260K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $419K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $260K 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 811 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Owensville Carnegie Public Library serves 4,072 people in and around Owensville, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Owensville.
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 Owensville
Does Owensville have a public library?
Yes. Owensville Carnegie Public Library, 110 South Main Street, serves 4,072 people in and around Owensville (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Owensville Carnegie 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 Owensville’s library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 6.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Owensville’s civic life grade?
A Owensville is ahead of 91% 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 Owensville.
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.