Photo: Spacini at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Elkhart’s library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Elkhart/Morton County Library serves 2,580 people in and around Elkhart. Last year it lent 35K books, movies and e-books and logged 28K visits.
Elkhart’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
3,560 cards for 2,580 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Elkhart/Morton County Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 95% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 54% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 3% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 72% of similar-size libraries. 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; Elkhart/Morton County Library serves 2,580 people in and around Elkhart, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Elkhart’s civic life grade
Elkhart isn’t graded on civic life: its library is a branch of Elkhart/Morton County Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of 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 Elkhart
6.0 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
What kids borrow
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Elkhart/Morton County Library serves 2,580 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Elkhart/Morton County Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: spending and funding. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
35K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,207 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Elkhart/Morton County Library, 410 Kansas, Elkhart.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Elkhart/Morton County Library branch.
New in Elkhart? 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 Elkhart cardholder borrows.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 3,560 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: spending and funding. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Elkhart/Morton County Library serves 2,580 people in and around Elkhart, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Elkhart.
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 Elkhart
Does Elkhart have a public library?
Yes. Elkhart/Morton County Library, 410 Kansas, serves 2,580 people in and around Elkhart (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Elkhart/Morton County Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Elkhart’s library?
It logged 10.9 visits and lent 13.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Elkhart’s civic life grade?
Elkhart isn’t graded on civic life: its library is a branch of Elkhart/Morton County Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Elkhart.
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.