Photo: w:en:Dsyrengelas · CC BY-SA 3.0Indian Lake’s library runs 223 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Town of Indian Lake Public Library serves Indian Lake’s 1,363 residents. Last year it lent 14K books, movies and e-books and logged 8,340 visits.
Indian Lake’s library, in brief
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Town of Indian Lake Public Library ran 304 programs last year, about 6 a week. That’s 223 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 3,116 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone in Indian Lake has a card
1,255 cards for 1,363 people, or 92%. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
74% of the 304 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.4 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Indian Lake invests in its library
Town of Indian Lake Public Library spends $168 per resident a year, about three times the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (94%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
A place to get online
Town of Indian Lake Public Library logs about 24 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 8 public computers. That’s 6.4 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Indian Lake’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Indian Lake is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Indian Lake’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Indian Lake
10.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.1%
8.1% of Indian Lake’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.4% in the typical New York 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 Indian Lake’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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 Indian Lake last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Town of Indian Lake Public Library serves 1,363 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
14K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 31K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
3,630 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Town of Indian Lake Public Library, 113 Pelon Road, Indian Lake.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Indian Lake? 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 $1.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Indian Lake cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $230K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $273K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $230K 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 1,255 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Indian Lake ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Pleasant | Town of Lake Pleasant Public Library | 10.3 | 26 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Speculator | Town of Lake Pleasant Public Library | 10.3 | 26 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Indian Lake | Town of Indian Lake Public Library fine-free | 10.3 | 36 | A |
| Johnsburg | Town of Johnsburg Library fine-free | 6.0 | 25 | B+ |
| Long Lake | Raquette Lake Free Library fine-free | — | 23 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Minerva | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Wells | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Arietta | 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 Indian Lake
Does Indian Lake have a public library?
Yes. Town of Indian Lake Public Library, 113 Pelon Road, serves Indian Lake’s 1,363 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Town of Indian Lake 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 Indian Lake’s library?
It logged 6.1 visits and lent 10.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Indian Lake’s civic life grade?
A Indian Lake is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Indian Lake.
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.