Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Kelly Martin assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 3.0Altona’s library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Ransom Memorial Public Library serves 685 people in and around Altona. Last year it lent 8,195 print books and media and logged 2,250 visits.
The short version on Altona’s library
Nearly everyone in Altona has a card
680 cards for 685 people, or 99%. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Ransom Memorial Public Library serves 685 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 ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Ransom Memorial Public Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Altona is a town of borrowers
Ransom Memorial Public Library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 91% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Ransom Memorial Public Library serves more than Altona
The library’s service area covers 685 people in and around Altona, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Altona’s civic life grade
Altona 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 →
Books and media off the shelf
8,195 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 Altona’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Ransom Memorial Public Library serves 685 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
22 programs a year
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.
Find it
Ransom Memorial Public Library, 110 East Main Street, Altona.
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 $3.63 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Altona cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $41K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $147K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $41K 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 680 cardholders ÷ 12.
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.
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 Altona
Does Altona have a public library?
Yes. Ransom Memorial Public Library, 110 East Main Street, serves 685 people in and around Altona (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ransom Memorial Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Altona’s library?
It logged 3.3 visits and lent 12.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Altona’s civic life grade?
Altona 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 Altona.
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.