Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Sandborn’s library is a branch of Bicknell-Vigo Township Public Library, which lends less per resident than 92% of systems its size
Sandborn’s library is the Sandborn Branch, a branch of Bicknell-Vigo Township Public Library, which serves 4,520 people and lent 8,463 items last year.
Sandborn’s library, in brief
The Bicknell-Vigo Township Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Bicknell-Vigo Township Public Library system records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. How it compares ↓
Most of the system’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 54% of loans. Print still makes up 46%. What people borrow ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
4,055 cards for 4,520 people, or 90%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
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; Sandborn’s library is a branch of Bicknell-Vigo Township Public Library, so they cover the whole system (4,520 people), not just the Sandborn branch.
What’s behind Sandborn’s civic life grade
Sandborn isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Bicknell-Vigo Township Public Library serves 4,520 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Bicknell-Vigo Township Public Library system. The library’s own count.
54% of borrowing is digital
8,463 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,602 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, 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
Sandborn Branch, 112 North Anderson, Sandborn.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Bicknell-Vigo Township Public Library branch.
New in Sandborn? 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 Sandborn cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $222K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $144K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $222K 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 4,055 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Sandborn Branch is one branch of Bicknell-Vigo Township Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 4,520 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 Sandborn
Does Sandborn have a public library?
Yes: Sandborn Branch, 112 North Anderson, is a branch of Bicknell-Vigo Township Public Library, which serves 4,520 people. The branch is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bicknell-Vigo Township 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 Sandborn’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Sandborn’s civic life grade?
Sandborn isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Sandborn.
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.