Wilmington Township’s library runs 109 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Butler Public Library serves Wilmington Township’s 4,833 residents. Last year it lent 19K print books and media and logged 19K visits.
What Wilmington Township’s library is like
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Butler Public Library ran 526 programs last year, about 10 a week. That’s 109 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
62% of the 526 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 176 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Butler Public Library holds 36,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. What people borrow ↓
Wilmington Township invests in its library
Butler Public Library spends $88 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 Wilmington Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Wilmington Township is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #355 of 571 in Indiana. Wilmington Township’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Wilmington Township
4.2 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.3%
6.3% of Wilmington 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 Wilmington Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Butler Public Library serves 4,833 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
19K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 36K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 Wilmington Township last year.
Find it
Butler Public Library, 340 South Broadway, Butler.
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 Wilmington Township? 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 Wilmington Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $425K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $325K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $425K 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 1,204 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington Township | Butler Public Library fine-free | 4.0 | 48 | B− |
| Union Township | Eckhart Public Library fine-free | — | 56 | A− |
| Concord Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Franklin Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Stafford Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Wilmington Township
Does Wilmington Township have a public library?
Yes. Butler Public Library, 340 South Broadway, serves Wilmington Township’s 4,833 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Butler 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 Wilmington Township’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 4.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Wilmington Township’s civic life grade?
B− Wilmington Township is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on civic life, #355 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 Wilmington 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.