Ashley’s library logs 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Ashley Public Library District serves 1,722 people in and around Ashley. Last year it lent 1,063 print books and media and logged 819 visits.
What Ashley’s library is like
Ashley Public Library District is used less than most libraries its size
Ashley Public Library District records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $22 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Open only about 15 hours a week
The Ashley branch keeps short hours: about 15 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 6% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
Illinois pays a big share
21% of the budget comes from the state, and 68% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Ashley Public Library District offered 19 programs last year, 11 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. 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; Ashley Public Library District serves 1,722 people in and around Ashley, 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 Ashley’s civic life grade
Ashley 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 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Ashley Public Library District serves 1,722 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Ashley Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,063 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 Ashley’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
19 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
Ashley Public Library District, 70 North Second Street, Ashley.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ashley cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $38K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $23K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $38K 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 106 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.
- System-wide. Ashley Public Library District serves 1,722 people in and around Ashley, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Ashley.
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 Ashley
Does Ashley have a public library?
Yes. Ashley Public Library District, 70 North Second Street, serves 1,722 people in and around Ashley (the survey’s count) and is open about 15 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ashley Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Ashley’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits and lent 0.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Ashley’s civic life grade?
Ashley 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 Ashley.
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.