Photo: Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0Rome City’s library is a branch of Kendallville Public Library, which lends more per resident than 83% of systems its size
Rome City’s library is the Limberlost Public Library, a branch of Kendallville Public Library, which serves 17,125 people and lent 166K items last year.
What Rome City’s library is like
Visits are the system’s strong suit
The Kendallville Public Library system logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 98% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 7.8 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
The Kendallville Public Library system ran 1,037 programs last year, about 20 a week. That’s 61 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 53% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
66% of the 1,037 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 206 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
The Kendallville Public Library system spends $108 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. 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; Rome City’s library is a branch of Kendallville Public Library, so they cover the whole system (17,125 people), not just the Rome City branch.
What’s behind Rome City’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Rome City is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns. Rome City is graded on two of the three inputs. Rome City’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($53K–$89K) 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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Rome City
5.9 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.6%
4.6% of Rome City’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 Rome City’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Kendallville Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Kendallville Public Library serves 17,125 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
166K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
31,962 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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
Limberlost Public Library, 164 South Kelly Street, Rome City.
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 Kendallville Public Library branch.
New in Rome City? 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 $1.39 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rome City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.8M 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 6,099 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Limberlost Public Library is one branch of Kendallville Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 17,125 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 Rome City
Does Rome City have a public library?
Yes: Limberlost Public Library, 164 South Kelly Street, is a branch of Kendallville Public Library, which serves 17,125 people. The branch is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Kendallville 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 Rome City’s library?
It logged 11.3 visits and lent 9.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Rome City’s civic life grade?
C+ Rome City is ahead of 41% 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 Rome City.
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.