Hawkins’ library lends 9.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Hawkins Area Library serves 562 people in and around Hawkins. Last year it lent 5,418 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,213 visits.
Hawkins’s library, in brief
Few residents carry a card
Only 16% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
Hawkins Area Library spends $129 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 1% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 79% 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; Hawkins Area Library serves 562 people in and around Hawkins, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Hawkins’ civic life grade
Hawkins 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 →
Mostly books and media off the shelf
5,418 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
38 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Hawkins Area Library serves 562 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hawkins Area Library system. The library’s own count.
54 programs a year
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
Hawkins Area Library, 709 Main St., Hawkins.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Hawkins Area Library branch.
New in Hawkins? 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 $1.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hawkins cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $72K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $96K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $72K 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 91 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Hawkins Area Library serves 562 people in and around Hawkins, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Hawkins.
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 Hawkins
Does Hawkins have a public library?
Yes. Hawkins Area Library, 709 Main St., serves 562 people in and around Hawkins (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hawkins Area 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 Hawkins’ library?
It logged 7.5 visits and lent 9.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Hawkins’ civic life grade?
Hawkins 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 Hawkins.
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.