Pigeon Township’s library logs 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size
Willard Library of Evansville serves Pigeon Township’s 117,298 residents. Last year it lent 186K books, movies and e-books and logged 63K visits.
What Pigeon Township’s library is like
Willard Library of Evansville is used less than most libraries its size
Willard Library of Evansville records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people. Borrowing is 1.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2. It also spends less than most: $12 per resident, against a typical $36. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Willard Library of Evansville offered 231 programs last year, 2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Willard Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1972. Today’s library there has 11,600 square feet. The buildings ↓
Programs lean toward adults
58% of the 231 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 94 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Willard Library of Evansville spends $12 per resident, less than 95% of similar-size libraries (typical: $36). 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.
What’s behind Pigeon Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Pigeon Township is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #103 of 571 in Indiana. Pigeon Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Pigeon Township’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 →
223 community nonprofits are registered in Pigeon Township
8.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (57 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.3%
8.3% of Pigeon 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 Pigeon Township’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1972
Willard Library of Evansville, 21 First Avenue, Evansville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Pigeon Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Willard Library
Willard Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Sep 28, 1972. It is significant for its architecture at the state level. Its architecture is described as Victorian Gothic.
The Willard Library is a public library incorporated in 1881 to serve the city of Evansville, Indiana. In addition to standard publications, Willard Library also stores local and genealogical archives. It is built in the Gothic Revival style, designed by James W. Reid (of Reid & Reid). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
More about the building →Other libraries in Pigeon Township
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Willard Library of Evansville serves 117,298 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 60 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
186K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 88K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2 times last year, on average.
13,729 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Pigeon Township last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.18 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pigeon Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 25,968 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pigeon Township | Willard Library of Evansville fine-free | 1.6 | 60 | A |
| Center Township | North Park Branch Library fine-free | — | 61 | B− |
| Evansville | Evansville-Vanderburgh Public Library fine-free | — | 65 | B+ |
| Knight Township | Mccollough Branch Library fine-free | — | 61 | B− |
| Perry Township | Red Bank Branch Library fine-free | — | 61 | B |
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).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Pigeon Township
Does Pigeon Township have a public library?
Yes. Willard Library of Evansville, 21 First Avenue, serves Pigeon Township’s 117,298 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Willard Library of Evansville 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 Pigeon Township’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits and lent 1.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Pigeon Township’s civic life grade?
A Pigeon Township is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on civic life, #103 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 Pigeon Township.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.