South Whitley’s library runs 102 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
South Whitley Community Public Library serves 5,110 people in and around South Whitley. Last year it lent 50K books, movies and e-books and logged 34K visits.
The short version on South Whitley’s library
Few residents carry a card
Only 15% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
South Whitley Community Public Library ran 519 programs last year, about 10 a week. That’s 102 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 7,918 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. It’s 31% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
South Whitley Community Public Library spends $139 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (92%) 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; South Whitley Community Public Library serves 5,110 people in and around South Whitley, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind South Whitley’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, South Whitley is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns. South Whitley is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in South Whitley
3.9 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.
9.2%
9.2% of South Whitley’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 Whitley’s residents live; 2022.
About 5 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
South Whitley Community Public Library serves 5,110 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole South Whitley Community Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
50K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
15,575 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
South Whitley Community Public Library, 201 East Front Street, South Whitley.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every South Whitley Community Public Library branch.
New in South Whitley? 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 $1.20 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Whitley cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $708K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $847K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $708K 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 789 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. South Whitley Community Public Library serves 5,110 people in and around South Whitley, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just South Whitley.
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 Whitley
Does South Whitley have a public library?
Yes. South Whitley Community Public Library, 201 East Front Street, serves 5,110 people in and around South Whitley (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South Whitley Community 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 South Whitley’s library?
It logged 6.6 visits and lent 9.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is South Whitley’s civic life grade?
B+ South Whitley is ahead of 69% 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 South Whitley.
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.