Photo: Skvader · CC BY-SA 4.0Bement Township’s library runs 99 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Bement Public Library District serves 1,957 people in and around Bement Township. Last year it lent 3,082 print books and media and logged 4,514 visits.
What’s behind Bement Township’s civic life grade
Bement Township 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Bement Public Library District serves 1,957 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Bement Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
3,082 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 Bement Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
194 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
Bement Public Library District, 349 South Macon Street, Bement.
Good at every Bement Public Library District branch.
New in Bement Township? The Handbook →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 Bement Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $134K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $70K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $134K 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 360 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monticello Township | Allerton Public Library District fine-free | 11.2 | 53 | — graded with its twin city |
| Willow Branch Township | Willow Branch Township Library | 1.7 | 25 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Bement Township | Bement Public Library District | — | 30 | — graded with its twin city |
| Unity Township | Atwood-Hammond Public Library District fine-free | — | 42 | B |
| Cerro Gordo Township | Hope Welty Public Library District | — | 33 | A |
| Sadorus Township | 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. Bement Public Library District serves 1,957 people in and around Bement Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Bement Township.
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 Bement Township
Does Bement Township have a public library?
Yes. Bement Public Library District, 349 South Macon Street, serves 1,957 people in and around Bement Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bement Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Bement Township’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 1.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Bement Township’s civic life grade?
Bement Township 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 Bement Township.
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.