Photo: Momoneymoproblemz · CC BY-SA 4.0Wayne Township’s library logs 5.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Speedway Public Library serves Wayne Township’s 13,952 residents. Last year it lent 55K books, movies and e-books and logged 82K visits.
The short version on Wayne Township’s library
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 85% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 35%. The building also logs about 18 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Speedway Public Library holds 87,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
Wayne Township invests in its library
Speedway Public Library spends $87 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (89%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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 Wayne Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Wayne Township is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns, #560 of 571 in Indiana. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #294. Wayne Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Wayne Township’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$71K) 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 →
356 community nonprofits are registered in Wayne Township
2.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (180 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 34 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.1%
5.1% of Wayne 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 Wayne Township’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Speedway Public Library serves 13,952 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
55K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 87K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
16,509 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Wayne Township last year.
3 places to borrow in Wayne Township
Speedway Public Library, 5633 West 25th Street, Speedway.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Wayne Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Wayne Township
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wayne Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $905K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 8,160 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Township | Speedway Public Library fine-free | 4.0 | 60 | D |
| Center Township | Indianapolis Public Library fine-free | — | 54 | A− |
| Decatur Township | Decatur Branch Library fine-free | — | 51 | C− |
| Pike Township | Eagle Branch Library fine-free | — | 55 | C+ |
| Indianapolis | Indianapolis Public Library fine-free | — | 54 | B− |
| Washington Township | Avon-Washington Township Public Library | — | 63 | B− |
| Washington Township | Glendale Branch Library fine-free | — | 61 | A |
| Plainfield | Plainfield-Guilford Township Public Library fine-free | — | 65 | 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.
- 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 Wayne Township
Does Wayne Township have a public library?
Yes. Speedway Public Library, 5633 West 25th Street, serves Wayne Township’s 13,952 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Speedway Public Library 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 Wayne Township’s library?
It logged 5.9 visits and lent 4.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Wayne Township’s civic life grade?
D Wayne Township is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns on civic life, #560 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 Wayne 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.