Walkerton’s library logs 5.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Walkerton-Lincoln Township Public Library serves 2,859 people in and around Walkerton. Last year it lent 11K print books and media and logged 17K visits.
The short version on Walkerton’s library
Programs draw a crowd
5,955 people came to the system’s 114 programs last year: 2.1 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 62% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 68% of similar-size libraries. 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; Walkerton-Lincoln Township Public Library serves 2,859 people in and around Walkerton, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Walkerton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Walkerton is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns. Walkerton is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Walkerton’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Walkerton
3.2 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.9%
8.9% of Walkerton’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 Walkerton’s residents live; 2022.
114 programs a year
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 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Walkerton-Lincoln Township Public Library serves 2,859 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Walkerton-Lincoln Township Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
11K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Walkerton-Lincoln Township Public Library, 406 Adams Street, Walkerton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Walkerton-Lincoln Township Public Library branch.
New in Walkerton? 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 $1.85 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Walkerton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $142K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $262K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $142K 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 1,631 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.
- System-wide. Walkerton-Lincoln Township Public Library serves 2,859 people in and around Walkerton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Walkerton.
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 Walkerton
Does Walkerton have a public library?
Yes. Walkerton-Lincoln Township Public Library, 406 Adams Street, serves 2,859 people in and around Walkerton (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Walkerton-Lincoln 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 Walkerton’s library?
It logged 5.8 visits and lent 3.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Walkerton’s civic life grade?
B− Walkerton is ahead of 54% 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 Walkerton.
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.