Sterling Township’s library lends 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Crawford County Public Library serves 10,526 people in and around Sterling Township. Last year it lent 16K books, movies and e-books and logged 18K visits.
Sterling Township’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Crawford County Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 17% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. 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; Crawford County Public Library serves 10,526 people in and around Sterling Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Sterling Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Sterling Township is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns. Sterling Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Sterling Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($31K–$52K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Sterling Township
2.7 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.6%
7.6% of Sterling 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 Sterling Township’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Crawford County Public Library serves 10,526 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Crawford County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
16K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,880 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
Crawford County Public Library, 203 Indiana Avenue, English.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Crawford County Public Library branch.
New in Sterling Township? 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 $1.22 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sterling Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $240K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $293K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $240K 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 1,809 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling Township | Crawford County Public Library | — | 40 | C |
| Patoka Township | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Union Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Liberty Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Whiskey Run Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Jennings Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Ohio Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Greenfield 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.
- System-wide. Crawford County Public Library serves 10,526 people in and around Sterling Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Sterling 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 Sterling Township
Does Sterling Township have a public library?
Yes. Crawford County Public Library, 203 Indiana Avenue, serves 10,526 people in and around Sterling Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Crawford County 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 Sterling Township’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 1.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Sterling Township’s civic life grade?
C Sterling Township is ahead of 32% 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 Sterling 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.