Photo: Kurt Weber, aka Kmweber at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Petersburg’s library runs 31 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Pike County Public Library serves 12,250 people in and around Petersburg. Last year it lent 26K print books and media and logged 16K visits.
What stands out about Pike County Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Petersburg’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Petersburg is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. Petersburg 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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Petersburg
7.1 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.
20.6%
20.6% of Petersburg’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 Petersburg’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Pike County Public Library serves 12,250 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Pike County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
26K 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 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.
Find it
Pike County Public Library, 1008 East Maple Street, Petersburg.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Pike County Public Library branch.
New in Petersburg? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Petersburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $791K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $499K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $791K 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 2,884 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. Pike County Public Library serves 12,250 people in and around Petersburg, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Petersburg.
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 Petersburg
Does Petersburg have a public library?
Yes. Pike County Public Library, 1008 East Maple Street, serves 12,250 people in and around Petersburg (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pike County 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 Petersburg’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 2.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Petersburg’s civic life grade?
A+ Petersburg is among the top 1% 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 Petersburg.
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.