Norris Farm-Maxinkuckee Orchard · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainUnion Township’s library runs 304 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Culver-Union Township Public Library serves 2,771 people in and around Union Township. Last year it lent 41K books, movies and e-books and logged 36K visits.
Union Township’s library, in brief
Nine times the programs of a typical library its size
Culver-Union Township Public Library ran 841 programs last year, about 16 a week. That’s 304 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 10,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Culver-Union Township Public Library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 94% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. It’s 23% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
Culver-Union Township Public Library spends $215 per resident a year, about five times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (85%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 38% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
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; Culver-Union Township Public Library serves 2,771 people in and around Union Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Union Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Union Township is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #55 of 571 in Indiana. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Union Township
8.5 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.1%
8.1% of Union 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 Union Township’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Culver-Union Township Public Library serves 2,771 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 Culver-Union Township Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
41K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
9,442 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Culver-Union Township Public Library, 107 North Main Street, Culver.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Culver-Union Township Public Library branch.
New in Union 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 $1.30 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Union Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $595K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $775K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $595K 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 1,361 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union Township | Culver-Union Township Public Library | — | 42 | A |
| Green Township | None of its own | — | — | A |
| West Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| North Bend 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.
- System-wide. Culver-Union Township Public Library serves 2,771 people in and around Union Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Union 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 Union Township
Does Union Township have a public library?
Yes. Culver-Union Township Public Library, 107 North Main Street, serves 2,771 people in and around Union Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Culver-Union Township 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 Township’s library?
It logged 12.8 visits and lent 14.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Union Township’s civic life grade?
A Union Township is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #55 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 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.