Hammond’s library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Hammond Free Library serves 1,258 people in and around Hammond. Last year it lent 1,462 print books and media and logged 1,745 visits.
What Hammond’s library is like
Hammond Free Library is used less than most libraries its size
Hammond Free Library records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $20 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Hammond Free Library serves 1,258 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 ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Hammond Free Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Hammond Free Library offered 10 programs last year, 7.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
31% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 58%. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Hammond’s civic life grade
Hammond 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Hammond Free Library serves 1,258 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,462 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 4,185 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
10 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
Hammond Free Library, 21 South Main Street, Hammond.
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 Hammond? 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 $7.63 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hammond cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $26K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $195K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $26K 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 166 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. New York libraries often don’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 Hammond
Does Hammond have a public library?
Yes. Hammond Free Library, 21 South Main Street, serves 1,258 people in and around Hammond (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hammond Free 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 Hammond’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 1.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Hammond’s civic life grade?
Hammond 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 Hammond.
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.