Orr, Robert, Polygonal Barn · Photo: JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0Washington Township’s library logs 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Pierceton & Washington Township Public Library serves 4,145 people in and around Washington Township. Last year it lent 4,121 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,400 visits.
Washington Township’s library, in brief
Pierceton & Washington Township Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Pierceton & Washington Township Public Library records 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Pierceton & Washington Township Public Library offered 13 programs last year, 3.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 9% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Pierceton & Washington Township Public Library serves 4,145 people in and around Washington Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Washington Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Washington Township is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns, #484 of 571 in Indiana. Washington Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Washington Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($52K–$87K) 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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Washington Township
2.4 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.
7.7%
7.7% of Washington 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 Washington Township’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Pierceton & Washington Township Public Library serves 4,145 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, for the whole Pierceton & Washington Township Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
4,121 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
13 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Pierceton & Washington Township Public Library, 101 Catholic Street, Pierceton.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Pierceton & Washington Township Public Library branch.
New in Washington Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Washington Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $113K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $62K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $113K 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 378 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Township | Pierceton & Washington Township Public Library fine-free | — | 25 | C |
| Tippecanoe Township | North Webster Community Public Library fine-free | — | 49 | A− |
| Wayne Township | Warsaw Community Public Library fine-free | — | 48 | B− |
| Monroe Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Richland Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Etna-Troy 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. Pierceton & Washington Township Public Library serves 4,145 people in and around Washington Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Washington 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 Washington Township
Does Washington Township have a public library?
Yes. Pierceton & Washington Township Public Library, 101 Catholic Street, serves 4,145 people in and around Washington Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pierceton & Washington Township Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Washington Township’s library?
It logged 0.3 visits and lent 1.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Washington Township’s civic life grade?
C Washington Township is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns on civic life, #484 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 Washington 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.