James Ballantine House · Photo: Tgkrause · CC BY-SA 3.0Bloomington’s library runs 5.5 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Bloomington Public Library serves Bloomington’s 1,460 residents. Last year it lent 5,631 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,872 visits.
What Bloomington’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Bloomington Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Bloomington Public Library serves 1,460 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 ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Bloomington Public Library offered 8 programs last year, 5.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
Bloomington Public Library keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A place to get online
Bloomington Public Library logs about 16 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 3 public computers. That’s 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 Bloomington’s civic life grade
Bloomington 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 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Bloomington Public Library serves 1,460 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
5,631 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 7,856 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
825 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
8 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Bloomington last year.
Find it
Bloomington Public Library, 453 Canal St., Bloomington.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Bloomington? 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 $2.15 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bloomington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $50K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $108K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $50K 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 453 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 Bloomington
Does Bloomington have a public library?
Yes. Bloomington Public Library, 453 Canal St., serves Bloomington’s 1,460 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bloomington 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 Bloomington’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 3.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Bloomington’s civic life grade?
Bloomington 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 Bloomington.
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.