Photo: Troypoling27 · CC BY-SA 4.0Union City’s library lends 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Union City Public Library serves 4,012 people in and around Union City. Last year it lent 5,244 print books and media and logged 6,925 visits.
What Union City’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Union City Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Union City Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2004. Today’s library there has 3,268 square feet. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 14% of the people Union City Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
71% of the 104 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 58% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 74% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
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.
What’s behind Union City’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Union City is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns, #497 of 571 in Indiana. Union City is graded on two of the three inputs. Union City’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($30K–$49K) 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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Union City
4.2 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.5%
4.5% of Union City’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 Union City’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 2004
Union City Public Library, 408 North Columbia Street, Union City.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Union City? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Union City Public Library
Union City Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jun 22, 2004. It is significant for its architecture and education at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival.
Union City Public Library is a historic Carnegie library building located at Union City, Indiana.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Union City Public Library serves 4,012 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
5,244 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Union City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $185K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $106K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $185K 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 572 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Union City
Does Union City have a public library?
Yes. Union City Public Library, 408 North Columbia Street, serves 4,012 people in and around Union City (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Union City 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 Union City’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 1.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Union City’s civic life grade?
C Union City is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns on civic life, #497 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 Union City.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.