Photo: Classicarchetype2 · CC BY 3.0Spiceland Township’s library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Spiceland Town-Township Public Library serves 2,184 people in and around Spiceland Township. Last year it lent 1,535 print books and media and logged 2,235 visits.
The short version on Spiceland Township’s library
Spiceland Town-Township Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Spiceland Town-Township Public Library records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $15 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Spiceland Township branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Spiceland Town-Township Public Library spends $15 per resident, less than 95% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). 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; Spiceland Town-Township Public Library serves 2,184 people in and around Spiceland Township, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Spiceland Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Spiceland Township is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Spiceland Township
4.8 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.
22.3%
22.3% of Spiceland 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 Spiceland Township’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Spiceland Town-Township Public Library serves 2,184 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Spiceland Town-Township Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,535 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.
29 programs a year
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
Spiceland Town-Township Public Library, 106 West Main Street, Spiceland.
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 Spiceland Town-Township Public Library branch.
New in Spiceland 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 Spiceland Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $34K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $25K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $34K 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 271 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Township | Knightstown Public Library | 2.9 | 36 | A+ |
| Spiceland Township | Spiceland Town-Township Public Library fine-free | — | 20 | B |
| Henry Township | New Castle-Henry County Public Library fine-free | — | 69 | A |
| Franklin Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Greensboro Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Spiceland Town-Township Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Spiceland Town-Township Public Library serves 2,184 people in and around Spiceland Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Spiceland 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 Spiceland Township
Does Spiceland Township have a public library?
Yes. Spiceland Town-Township Public Library, 106 West Main Street, serves 2,184 people in and around Spiceland Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Spiceland Town-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 Spiceland Township’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 0.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Spiceland Township’s civic life grade?
B Spiceland Township is ahead of 62% 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 Spiceland 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.