Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 3.0Rensselaer’s library lends 7.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Jasper County Public Library serves 30,993 people in and around Rensselaer. Last year it lent 288K books, movies and e-books and logged 123K visits.
Rensselaer’s library, in brief
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Jasper County Public Library is above the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, with seven in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Rensselaer Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1994. Today’s library there has 17,000 square feet. The building ↓
A well-funded system
Jasper County Public Library spends $82 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (90%) comes from local taxes. 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; Jasper County Public Library serves 30,993 people in and around Rensselaer, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Rensselaer’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Rensselaer is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #60 of 571 in Indiana. Rensselaer is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Rensselaer’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 →
71 community nonprofits are registered in Rensselaer
12.7 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 (18 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.6%
8.6% of Rensselaer’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 Rensselaer’s residents live; 2022.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.79 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rensselaer cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.6M 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 16,496 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Jasper County Public Library serves 30,993 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 33 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Jasper County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
288K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
63,503 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 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.
A National Register landmark since 1994
Jasper County Public Library, 208 West Susan Street, Rensselaer.
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 Jasper County Public Library branch.
New in Rensselaer? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Rensselaer Carnegie Library
Rensselaer Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Mar 17, 1994. It is significant for its architecture and education at the local level. Its architecture is described as Neo-Classical Revival.
The Rensselaer Carnegie Library in Rensselaer, Indiana is a building from 1905. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. The building no longer functions as a library; since 1992 it houses the Prairie Arts Council, a local performing arts organization.
More about the building →What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Jasper County Public Library serves 30,993 people in and around Rensselaer, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Rensselaer.
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 Rensselaer
Does Rensselaer have a public library?
Yes. Jasper County Public Library, 208 West Susan Street, serves 30,993 people in and around Rensselaer (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jasper County 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 Rensselaer’s library?
It logged 4.0 visits and lent 9.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Rensselaer’s civic life grade?
A Rensselaer is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life, #60 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 Rensselaer.
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.