Rufus and Amanda Black House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainSugar Creek Township’s library is a branch of Hancock County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 89% of systems its size
Sugar Creek Township’s library is the Sugar Creek Branch, a branch of Hancock County Public Library, which serves 64,225 people and lent 900K items last year.
The short version on Sugar Creek Township’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Hancock County Public Library system logs 7.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 9.7 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 56% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.3 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. It’s 30% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
The Hancock County Public Library system charges late fines on some overdue items. Three of the four libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 64 hours a week
The Sugar Creek Township branch is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
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; Sugar Creek Township’s library is a branch of Hancock County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (64,225 people), not just the Sugar Creek Township branch.
What’s behind Sugar Creek Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Sugar Creek Township is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns, #397 of 571 in Indiana. Sugar Creek Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Sugar Creek Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($76K–$126K) 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 →
49 community nonprofits are registered in Sugar Creek Township
2.8 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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.3%
8.3% of Sugar Creek 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 Sugar Creek Township’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 115 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hancock County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Hancock County Public Library serves 64,225 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
900K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
273,944 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 10 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
Sugar Creek Branch, 5731 West Us 52, New Palestine.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Hancock County Public Library branch.
New in Sugar Creek 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 $2.34 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sugar Creek Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $5.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $13M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.6M 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 19,910 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sugar Creek Township | Sugar Creek Branch | — | 64 | C+ |
| Center Township | Hancock County Public Library | — | 64 | A− |
| Indianapolis | Indianapolis Public Library fine-free | — | 54 | B− |
| Warren Township | Irvington Branch Library fine-free | — | 51 | C |
| Franklin Township | Franklin Road Branch Library fine-free | — | 51 | C |
| Buck Creek Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Philadelphia | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Moral Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Brandywine Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Cumberland | None of its own | — | — | D |
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. Sugar Creek Branch is one branch of Hancock County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 64,225 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 Sugar Creek Township
Does Sugar Creek Township have a public library?
Yes: Sugar Creek Branch, 5731 West Us 52, is a branch of Hancock County Public Library, which serves 64,225 people. The branch is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hancock 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 Sugar Creek Township’s library?
It logged 7.7 visits and lent 14.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Sugar Creek Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Sugar Creek Township is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on civic life, #397 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 Sugar Creek 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.