Salem Township’s library logs 7.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Francesville-Salem Township Public Library serves 1,735 people in and around Salem Township. Last year it lent 12K print books and media and logged 13K visits.
What stands out about Francesville-Salem Township Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Salem Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Salem Township is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns. Salem Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Salem 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Salem Township
8.0 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.7%
8.7% of Salem 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 Salem Township’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Francesville-Salem Township Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Francesville-Salem Township Public Library serves 1,735 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Books and media off the shelf
12K 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 1 kids’ program 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
Francesville-Salem Township Public Library, 201 West Montgomery Street, Francesville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Francesville-Salem Township Public Library branch.
New in Salem Township? 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 Salem Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $210K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $196K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $210K 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 713 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Township | Francesville-Salem Township Public Library fine-free | — | 30 | A |
| White Post Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Beaver Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Hanging Grove Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Francesville-Salem Township Public Library serves 1,735 people in and around Salem Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Salem Township.
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 Salem Township
Does Salem Township have a public library?
Yes. Francesville-Salem Township Public Library, 201 West Montgomery Street, serves 1,735 people in and around Salem Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Francesville-Salem Township 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 Salem Township’s library?
It logged 7.5 visits and lent 6.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Salem Township’s civic life grade?
A Salem Township is ahead of 88% 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 Salem 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. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.