Howard School · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainWhitestown’s library lends 21 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library serves 41,265 people in and around Whitestown. Last year it lent 1.1M books, movies and e-books and logged 239K visits.
Whitestown’s library, in brief
Whitestown uses its library more than almost any town its size
Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library logs 5.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 21 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 47% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 5.6 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. It’s 21% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library ran 1,616 programs last year, about 31 a week. That’s 39 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 30,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 168,000 items on the shelves went out about 5.1 times last year, on average. 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 Whitestown’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Whitestown is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns, #287 of 571 in Indiana. Whitestown is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Whitestown’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 →
34 community nonprofits are registered in Whitestown
2.7 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.1%
10.1% of Whitestown’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 Whitestown’s residents live; 2022.
About 14 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.
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.
Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library serves 41,265 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 177 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
1.1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 168K books and other items on the shelves went out about 5.1 times last year, on average.
229,097 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Whitestown Branch, 6310 Albert S. West Dr., Whitestown.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Whitestown? 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 $4.31 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Whitestown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $16M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.8M 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 34,594 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Whitestown borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitestown | Whitestown Branch fine-free | 26.1 | 64 | B |
| Zionsville | Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library fine-free | 26.1 | 64 | A |
| Worth Township | Whitestown Branch fine-free | 26.1 | 64 | B |
| Lebanon | Lebanon Public Library | — | 58 | A− |
| Perry Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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 Whitestown
Does Whitestown have a public library?
Yes. Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library, 6310 Albert S. West Dr., serves 41,265 people in and around Whitestown (the survey’s count) and is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hussey-Mayfield Memorial 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 Whitestown’s library?
It logged 5.8 visits and lent 26.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Whitestown’s civic life grade?
B Whitestown is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns on civic life, #287 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 Whitestown.
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.