Photo: Nyttend · Public domainWashington’s library logs 5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Washington Carnegie Public Library serves 12,017 people in and around Washington. Last year it lent 50K books, movies and e-books and logged 60K visits.
The short version on Washington’s library
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 77% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 31%. The building also logs about 41 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 62% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 55% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 298 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.9 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
40% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 40% of loans, more per resident than at 67% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 60%, much of it kids’ books. 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 Washington’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Washington is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns, #161 of 571 in Indiana. Washington is graded on two of the three inputs. Washington’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
80 community nonprofits are registered in Washington
6.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (35 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.5%
7.5% of Washington’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’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Washington Carnegie Public Library serves 12,017 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
40% of borrowing is digital
50K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 36K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
19,875 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 kids’ programs 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.
Find it
Washington Carnegie Public Library, 300 West Main Street, Washington.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Washington? 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 $1.74 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Washington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $461K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $800K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $461K 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 3,004 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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
Does Washington have a public library?
Yes. Washington Carnegie Public Library, 300 West Main Street, serves 12,017 people in and around Washington (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Washington Carnegie 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 Washington’s library?
It logged 5.0 visits and lent 4.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Washington’s civic life grade?
B+ Washington is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns on civic life, #161 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.
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.