Photo: Skvader · CC BY-SA 4.0Bement’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. Last year it lent 3,082 print books and media and logged 4,514 visits.
What’s behind Bement’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bement is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Bement’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($57K–$95K) 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Bement
3.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.4%
6.4% of Bement’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 Bement’s residents live; 2022.
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’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.
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 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.
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, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Bement.
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
Does Bement have a public library?
Yes. Bement Public Library District, 349 South Macon Street, serves 1,957 people in and around Bement (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’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’s civic life grade?
C Bement is ahead of 26% 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 Bement.
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.