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West Branch Library · part of Vigo County Public Library

West Terre Haute’s library is a branch of Vigo County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 62% of systems its size

West Terre Haute’s library is the West Branch Library, a branch of Vigo County Public Library, which serves 106,153 people and lent 483K items last year.

125 North Church Street, West Terre Haute 47885 · about 40 hours a week
B−Civic lifeAhead of 47% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (812) 235-2121 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
483K
4.5 per resident
Visits a year
286K
2.7 per resident · Above typical (2.1)
Programs & events
1,196
about 23 a week · 27K attended
Cardholders
34%
35,667 cards
Open
40 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on West Terre Haute’s library

43% of borrowing happens on a screen

E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 43% of loans, more per resident than at 63% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 57%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓

A well-funded system

The Vigo County Public Library system spends $85 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 for a library its size. Almost all of it (90%) 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; West Terre Haute’s library is a branch of Vigo County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (106,153 people), not just the West Terre Haute branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind West Terre Haute’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, West Terre Haute is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns. West Terre Haute is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; West Terre Haute’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.

B−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of West Terre Haute’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureC−Community nonprofits2.5 per 1,000 residents · IN towns 3.6 · U.S. 3.7B+Volunteering9.6% of adults 25–44 · IN towns 9.1% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 47%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $40K–$67K (6,023)Ahead of 44%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. West Terre Haute is small (2,160 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

5 community nonprofits are registered in West Terre Haute

2.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.33 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans20.91 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.33 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.43 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.10 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.33 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

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.

Volunteering

9.6%

9.6% of West Terre Haute’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 West Terre Haute’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Terre Haute cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$85 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $9M.

Local taxes 90%State 6%Gifts & other 4%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9M 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 35,667 cardholders ÷ 12.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.7 visits · typical 2.1Higher than 69%
Borrowing per resident 2.6 print items · typical 3.2Lower than 62%
Digital borrowing 2 e-items · typical 1.4Higher than 63%
Kids’ borrowing 1 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 72%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.2Higher than 60%
Programs offered 11.3 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Higher than 60%
Cardholders 34% of residents · typical 41%Lower than 66%
Spending $85 per resident · typical $36Top 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Vigo County Public Library serves 106,153 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 79 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Vigo County Public Library system. The library’s own count.

286K
visits
2.7 per resident
483K
loans, print + digital
4.5 per resident
1,196
programs & events
27K attended
36K
library cards
34% of people served
Every open hour79items borrowed
Every week517people at a program
Every day494Wi-Fi sessions
85 staff (full-time equivalent)92 public computers
What people borrow

43% of borrowing is digital

483K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

483Kloans
Books & media (adults) 35%Kids’ books & media 22%E-books, audio & streaming 43%
From your couch

208,981 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 9 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in West Terre Haute →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5272
Ages 6–11200
Teens145
Adults363
All ages216
Little ones
5.2

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

106K
kids’ books & media borrowed
27K
people at programs
1,196
programs
The building

Find it

West Branch Library, 125 North Church Street, West Terre Haute.

Directions(812) 235-2121
40
hours open a week
5,000
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Vigo County Public Library branch.

New in West Terre Haute? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. West Branch Library is one branch of Vigo County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 106,153 people it serves.

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 West Terre Haute

Does West Terre Haute have a public library?

Yes: West Branch Library, 125 North Church Street, is a branch of Vigo County Public Library, which serves 106,153 people. The branch is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Vigo County 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 West Terre Haute’s library?

It logged 2.7 visits and lent 4.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is West Terre Haute’s civic life grade?

B− West Terre Haute is ahead of 47% 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 West Terre Haute.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.