Oak Creek Township’s library logs 1.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Valparaiso Public Library serves 605 people in and around Oak Creek Township. Last year it lent 3,627 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,100 visits.
Oak Creek Township’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
816 cards for 605 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Valparaiso Public Library offered 0 programs last year, 0 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 14 hours a week
Valparaiso Public Library keeps short hours: about 14 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Valparaiso Public Library serves 605 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 63% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Oak Creek Township’s civic life grade
Oak Creek Township 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Valparaiso Public Library serves 605 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
3,627 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
1,093 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
What kids borrow
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Find it
Valparaiso Public Library, 300 West 2nd, Valparaiso.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Oak Creek Township? 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 $4.00 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Oak Creek Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $13K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $51K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $13K 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 816 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Creek Township | Valparaiso Public Library fine-free | 6.0 | 14 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Richardson Township | Dwight Community Library | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Newman 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.
- 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 Oak Creek Township
Does Oak Creek Township have a public library?
Yes. Valparaiso Public Library, 300 West 2nd, serves 605 people in and around Oak Creek Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 14 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Valparaiso 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 Oak Creek Township’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 6.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Oak Creek Township’s civic life grade?
Oak Creek Township 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 Oak Creek 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.