Photo: Nyttend · Public domainWhiting’s library logs 18 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Whiting Public Library serves 4,559 people in and around Whiting. Last year it lent 59K books, movies and e-books and logged 83K visits.
What Whiting’s library is like
Whiting uses its library more than almost any town its size
Whiting Public Library logs 18 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 9.7 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Whiting out-borrows every town next door
At 13 loans per resident, Whiting leads the four towns here. The closest is North Township, at 1.9. Libraries next door ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Whiting Public Library ran 566 programs last year, about 11 a week. That’s 124 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 9,438 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Whiting invests in its library
Whiting Public Library spends $260 per resident a year, about six times the typical $43 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 49% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
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 Whiting’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Whiting is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns, #535 of 571 in Indiana. Whiting is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($54K–$90K) 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Whiting
2.3 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.5%
6.5% of Whiting’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 Whiting’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Whiting Public Library serves 4,559 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
59K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 76K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
14,322 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
Whiting Public Library, 1735 Oliver Street, Whiting.
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 Whiting? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Whiting cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M 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 1,085 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Whiting borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whiting | Whiting Public Library fine-free | 12.9 | 51 | C− |
| North Township | Hammond Public Library | 1.9 | 64 | C− |
| Hammond | Hammond Public Library | 1.9 | 64 | D− |
| East Chicago | East Chicago Public Library | 0.5 | 60 | D− |
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.
- Visits count everyone. Whiting’s 82,720 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
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 Whiting
Does Whiting have a public library?
Yes. Whiting Public Library, 1735 Oliver Street, serves 4,559 people in and around Whiting (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Whiting 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 Whiting’s library?
It logged 18.1 visits and lent 12.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Whiting’s civic life grade?
C− Whiting is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns on civic life, #535 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 Whiting.
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.