Photo: Scott Palmer · CC BY-SA 4.0South Bend’s library logs 4.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size
St. Joseph County Public Library serves 170,799 people in and around South Bend from 6 locations. Last year it lent 2.1M books, movies and e-books and logged 818K visits.
South Bend’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
St. Joseph County Public Library logs 4.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 7.9 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.2 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. It’s 35% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
St. Joseph County Public Library spends $107 per resident a year, about three times the typical $36 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
25% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 70%. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 64 hours a week
The South Bend branch is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
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; St. Joseph County Public Library serves 170,799 people in and around South Bend, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind South Bend’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, South Bend is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #352 of 571 in Indiana. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #94. South Bend is graded on two of the three inputs. South Bend’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
537 community nonprofits are registered in South Bend
5.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (160 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 19 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.9%
5.9% of South Bend’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 South Bend’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 74 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole St. Joseph County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
St. Joseph County Public Library serves 170,799 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2.1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
723,590 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 23 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.
6 places to borrow in South Bend
St. Joseph County Public Library, 304 South Main Street, South Bend.
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 St. Joseph County Public Library branch.
New in South Bend? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other St. Joseph County Public Library branches in South Bend
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.75 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Bend cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $18M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $32M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $18M 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 72,558 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Bend | St. Joseph County Public Library fine-free | — | 64 | B− |
| Mishawaka | Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library | — | 56 | C− |
| Portage Township | St. Joseph County Public Library fine-free | — | 64 | B− |
| Penn Township | Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library | — | 56 | D |
| Ardmore | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Gilmer Park | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Notre Dame | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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. St. Joseph County Public Library serves 170,799 people in and around South Bend, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just South Bend.
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 South Bend
Does South Bend have a public library?
Yes. St. Joseph County Public Library, 304 South Main Street, serves 170,799 people in and around South Bend (the survey’s count) and is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is St. Joseph 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 South Bend’s library?
It logged 4.8 visits and lent 12.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is South Bend’s civic life grade?
B− South Bend is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on civic life, #352 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 South Bend.
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.