Photo: Nyttend · Public domainAthens’ library lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Athens Municipal Library serves Athens’s 1,977 residents. Last year it lent 20K books, movies and e-books and logged 13K visits.
Athens’s library, in brief
A small-town library
Athens Municipal Library serves 1,977 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 40 hours a week. 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 ↓
Programs draw a crowd
5,859 people came to the library’s 112 programs last year: 3 per resident, against a typical 0.7, more than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Athens’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Athens is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Athens
3.8 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.7%
9.7% of Athens’ 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 Athens’ residents live; 2022.
112 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 Athens last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Athens Municipal Library serves 1,977 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.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
20K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2 times last year, on average.
Find it
Athens Municipal Library, 410 East Hargrave Street, Athens.
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 $4.67 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Athens cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $86K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $404K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $86K 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 571 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 Athens
Does Athens have a public library?
Yes. Athens Municipal Library, 410 East Hargrave Street, serves Athens’ 1,977 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Athens Municipal Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Athens’ library?
It logged 6.7 visits and lent 10.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Athens’ civic life grade?
A− Athens is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Athens.
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.