Photo: artistmac · CC BY-SA 2.0Belleville’s library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Belleville Public Library serves Belleville’s 42,404 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 88K print books and media and logged 41K visits.
What Belleville’s library is like
Every town next door borrows more
Belleville’s library lends 2.1 items per resident. Each of the three neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Smithton Township at 4.3. Libraries next door ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Belleville Public Library offered 208 programs last year, 4.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 208 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 30 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Federal money pays a real share
4% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 80% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
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.
What’s behind Belleville’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Belleville is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns, #522 of 754 in Illinois. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($48K–$79K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
156 community nonprofits are registered in Belleville
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 (51 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.7%
7.7% of Belleville’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 Belleville’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Belleville Public Library serves 42,404 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
88K 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 Belleville’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 81K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
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.
2 places to borrow in Belleville
Belleville Public Library, 121 East Washington Street, Belleville.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Belleville
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.05 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Belleville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.5M 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 1,450 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Belleville ranks 4th of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smithton Township | Smithton Public Library District | 4.3 | 61 | — graded with its twin city |
| Smithton | Smithton Public Library District | 4.3 | 61 | A− |
| Freeburg | Freeburg Area Library District | 4.0 | 37 | A |
| Belleville | Belleville Public Library fine-free | 2.1 | 60 | C |
| Centreville Township | Cahokia Public Library District | — | 49 | D |
| East St. Louis Township | East St. Louis Public Library | — | 58 | — graded with its twin city |
| East St. Louis | East St. Louis Public Library | — | 58 | C− |
| St. Clair Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Stookey Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Swansea | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Shiloh Valley Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Belleville Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 Belleville
Does Belleville have a public library?
Yes. Belleville Public Library, 121 East Washington Street, serves Belleville’s 42,404 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Belleville Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Belleville’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 2.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Belleville’s civic life grade?
C Belleville is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns on civic life, #522 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 Belleville.
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.