Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 3.0Porter’s library is a branch of Westchester Public Library, which lends more per resident than 85% of systems its size
Porter’s library is the Hageman Memorial Library, a branch of Westchester Public Library, which serves 20,635 people and lent 235K items last year.
Porter’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Westchester Public Library system logs 7.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 8.5 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 85% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
The Westchester Public Library system spends $154 per resident a year, about four times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (85%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. It’s 25% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
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; Porter’s library is a branch of Westchester Public Library, so they cover the whole system (20,635 people), not just the Porter branch.
What’s behind Porter’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Porter is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #409 of 571 in Indiana. Porter is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Porter’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($56K–$93K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Porter
0.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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.
11.0%
11.0% of Porter’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 Porter’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 38 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Westchester Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Westchester Public Library serves 20,635 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
235K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
59,621 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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
Hageman Memorial Library, 100 Francis Street, Porter.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Westchester Public Library branch.
New in Porter? 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 $1.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Porter cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $3.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.2M 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 11,348 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porter | Hageman Memorial Library | — | 49 | C+ |
| Chesterton | Westchester Public Library | — | 69 | A+ |
| Dune Acres | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Burns Harbor | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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.
- System-wide. Hageman Memorial Library is one branch of Westchester Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 20,635 people it serves.
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 Porter
Does Porter have a public library?
Yes: Hageman Memorial Library, 100 Francis Street, is a branch of Westchester Public Library, which serves 20,635 people. The branch is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Westchester 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 Porter’s library?
It logged 7.9 visits and lent 11.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Porter’s civic life grade?
C+ Porter is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on civic life, #409 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 Porter.
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.