Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 3.0Wheatfield Township’s library is a branch of Jasper County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 79% of systems its size
Wheatfield Township’s library is the Wheatfield Branch, a branch of Jasper County Public Library, which serves 30,993 people and lent 288K items last year.
The short version on Wheatfield Township’s library
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Jasper County Public Library system is above the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, with seven in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
The Jasper County Public Library system spends $82 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 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; Wheatfield Township’s library is a branch of Jasper County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (30,993 people), not just the Wheatfield Township branch.
What’s behind Wheatfield Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Wheatfield Township is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #219 of 571 in Indiana. Wheatfield Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Wheatfield Township’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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Wheatfield Township
2.8 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.0%
12.0% of Wheatfield 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 Wheatfield Township’s residents live; 2022.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.79 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wheatfield Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.6M 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 16,496 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Jasper County Public Library serves 30,993 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 33 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Jasper County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
288K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
63,503 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 kids’ programs a week
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.
Find it
Wheatfield Branch, 350 South Bierma Street, Wheatfield.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Jasper County Public Library branch.
New in Wheatfield Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheatfield Township | Wheatfield Branch fine-free | — | 51 | B |
| Keener Township | Demotte Branch fine-free | — | 56 | C+ |
| Pleasant Township | Kouts Public Library fine-free | — | 57 | B+ |
| Kankakee Township | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
| Walker 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. Wheatfield Branch is one branch of Jasper County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 30,993 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 Wheatfield Township
Does Wheatfield Township have a public library?
Yes: Wheatfield Branch, 350 South Bierma Street, is a branch of Jasper County Public Library, which serves 30,993 people. The branch is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jasper 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 Wheatfield Township’s library?
It logged 4.0 visits and lent 9.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Wheatfield Township’s civic life grade?
B Wheatfield Township is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on civic life, #219 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 Wheatfield 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.