Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainElwood’s library lends 22 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Elwood Public Library serves Elwood’s 637 residents. Last year it lent 15K books, movies and e-books and logged 2,001 visits.
The short version on Elwood’s library
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 55%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Elwood Public Library serves 637 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 26 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Elwood Public Library offered 5 programs last year, 7.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 25% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 8% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 28% 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Elwood’s civic life grade
Elwood isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Mostly books and media off the shelf
15K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
1,243 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Elwood Public Library serves 637 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
5 programs a year
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
Elwood Public Library, 306 Calvert St., Elwood.
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 Elwood? 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 $6.53 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elwood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $37K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $244K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $37K 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 281 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Elwood
Does Elwood have a public library?
Yes. Elwood Public Library, 306 Calvert St., serves Elwood’s 637 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Elwood 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 Elwood’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 24.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Elwood’s civic life grade?
Elwood isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Elwood.
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.