Photo: Illinois2011 · CC BY 3.0Alton’s library runs 7.2 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Hayner Public Library District serves 46,753 people in and around Alton from 3 locations. Last year it lent 191K print books and media and logged 114K visits.
Alton’s library, in brief
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Hayner Public Library District charges late fines on some overdue items. Two of the three libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Hayner Public Library District serves 46,753 people in and around Alton, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Alton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Alton is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #180 of 754 in Illinois. Alton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
110 community nonprofits are registered in Alton
4.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (43 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.8%
8.8% of Alton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.1% in the typical Illinois 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 Alton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Hayner Public Library District serves 46,753 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hayner Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
191K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Alton’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 3 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.
3 places to borrow in Alton
Hayner Public Library District, 401 State Street, Alton.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Hayner Public Library District branches in Alton
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.38 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Alton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.4M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 8,324 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood River Township | Roxana Public Library District fine-free | 9.7 | 55 | C |
| East Alton | East Alton Public Library District fine-free | 1.9 | 46 | C+ |
| Alton | Hayner Public Library District | — | 46 | B+ |
| Alton Township | Hayner Public Library District | — | 46 | — graded with its twin city |
| Godfrey | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Foster Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| West Alton | 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.
- Digital loans not reported. Illinois libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Hayner Public Library District serves 46,753 people in and around Alton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Alton.
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 Alton
Does Alton have a public library?
Yes. Hayner Public Library District, 401 State Street, serves 46,753 people in and around Alton (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hayner Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Alton’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 4.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Alton’s civic life grade?
B+ Alton is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on civic life, #180 of 754 in Illinois. 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 Alton.
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.