Photo: Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 3.0Valparaiso’s library logs 2.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size
Porter County Public Library System serves 152,580 people in and around Valparaiso. Last year it lent 1.2M books, movies and e-books and logged 438K visits.
Valparaiso’s library, in brief
Most programs are for young children
71% of the 1,291 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 13 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 65 hours a week
The Valparaiso branch is open about 65 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; Porter County Public Library System serves 152,580 people in and around Valparaiso, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Valparaiso’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Valparaiso is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #52 of 571 in Indiana. Valparaiso is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Valparaiso’s count of community nonprofits ranks 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 →
232 community nonprofits are registered in Valparaiso
6.7 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 (44 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.3%
10.3% of Valparaiso’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 Valparaiso’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Porter County Public Library System serves 152,580 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 73 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Porter County Public Library System system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
1.2M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
396,016 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 18 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
Porter County Public Library System, 103 Jefferson Street, Valparaiso.
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 Porter County Public Library System branch.
New in Valparaiso? 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 $2.68 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Valparaiso cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $6.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $18M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.7M 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 60,759 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Porter County Public Library System serves 152,580 people in and around Valparaiso, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Valparaiso.
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 Valparaiso
Does Valparaiso have a public library?
Yes. Porter County Public Library System, 103 Jefferson Street, serves 152,580 people in and around Valparaiso (the survey’s count) and is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Porter County Public Library System 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 Valparaiso’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 7.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Valparaiso’s civic life grade?
A Valparaiso is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #52 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 Valparaiso.
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.