Photo: Aaron Lucas · CC BY-SA 4.0Benton Township’s library lends 1.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Benton Public Library District serves 12,417 people in and around Benton Township. Last year it lent 24K print books and media and logged 24K visits.
The short version on Benton Township’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Benton Public Library District sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 15% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Open about 64 hours a week
The Benton Township branch is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
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; Benton Public Library District serves 12,417 people in and around Benton Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Benton Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Benton Township is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #184 of 754 in Illinois. Benton Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks 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 →
36 community nonprofits are registered in Benton Township
4.2 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 (21 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.0%
9.0% of Benton Township’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 Benton Township’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Benton Public Library District serves 12,417 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Benton Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
24K 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 Benton Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
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
Benton Public Library District, 502 South Main Street, Benton.
Good at every Benton Public Library District branch.
New in Benton 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 Benton Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $451K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $429K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $451K 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 1,823 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfort Township | West Frankfort Public Library | 1.3 | 44 | D |
| Benton Township | Benton Public Library District | — | 64 | B+ |
| Browning Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Ewing Township | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Hanaford | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Eastern 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. Benton Public Library District serves 12,417 people in and around Benton Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Benton 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 Benton Township
Does Benton Township have a public library?
Yes. Benton Public Library District, 502 South Main Street, serves 12,417 people in and around Benton Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Benton Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Benton Township’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 1.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Benton Township’s civic life grade?
B+ Benton Township is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on civic life, #184 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 Benton 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.