Photo: Nyttend · Public domainLafayette’s library is a branch of Lima Public Library, which lends less per resident than 52% of systems its size
Lafayette’s library is the Lafayette Branch Library, a branch of Lima Public Library, which serves 90,173 people and lent 455K items last year.
The short version on Lafayette’s library
Open only about 21 hours a week
The Lafayette branch keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
29% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 0%. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Lima Public Library system offered 518 programs last year, 5.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
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; Lafayette’s library is a branch of Lima Public Library, so they cover the whole system (90,173 people), not just the Lafayette branch.
What’s behind Lafayette’s civic life grade
Lafayette 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 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Lima Public Library serves 90,173 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 36 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lima Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
455K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
137,462 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
Lafayette Branch Library, 225 E. Sugar St., Lafayette.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Lima Public Library branch.
New in Lafayette? 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 $2.30 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lafayette cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.1M 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 24,819 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Lafayette Branch Library is one branch of Lima Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 90,173 people it serves.
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 Lafayette
Does Lafayette have a public library?
Yes: Lafayette Branch Library, 225 E. Sugar St., is a branch of Lima Public Library, which serves 90,173 people. The branch is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lima 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 Lafayette’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 5.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Lafayette’s civic life grade?
Lafayette 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 Lafayette.
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.