Photo: Nyttend · Public domainPaoli’s library runs 14 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Paoli Public Library serves 6,038 people in and around Paoli. Last year it lent 31K books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
The short version on Paoli’s library
Most of the library’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 58% of loans, more per resident than at 89% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 42%. What people borrow ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 10% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 84 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 45 for ages 0–5. 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; Paoli Public Library serves 6,038 people in and around Paoli, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Paoli’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Paoli is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #14 of 571 in Indiana. Paoli is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Paoli’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
29 community nonprofits are registered in Paoli
9.2 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.6%
11.6% of Paoli’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 Paoli’s residents live; 2022.
58% of borrowing is digital
31K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
18,089 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Paoli Public Library serves 6,038 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Paoli Public Library system. The library’s own count.
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
Paoli Public Library, 100 West Water Street, Paoli.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Paoli Public Library branch.
New in Paoli? 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 $3.06 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Paoli cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $158K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $484K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $158K 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 622 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Paoli Public Library serves 6,038 people in and around Paoli, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Paoli.
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 Paoli
Does Paoli have a public library?
Yes. Paoli Public Library, 100 West Water Street, serves 6,038 people in and around Paoli (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Paoli 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 Paoli’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 5.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Paoli’s civic life grade?
A+ Paoli is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on civic life, #14 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 Paoli.
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.