Big Grove Township’s library runs 103 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Charles B. Phillips Public Library District serves 2,971 people in and around Big Grove Township. Last year it lent 17K books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
What Big Grove Township’s library is like
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Charles B. Phillips Public Library District ran 307 programs last year, about 6 a week. That’s 103 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 19% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
73% of the 307 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 68 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 60% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 72% 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; Charles B. Phillips Public Library District serves 2,971 people in and around Big Grove Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Big Grove Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Big Grove Township is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. Big Grove 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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Big Grove Township
4.3 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.3%
12.3% of Big Grove 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 Big Grove Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Charles B. Phillips Public Library District serves 2,971 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Charles B. Phillips Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
17K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,456 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
Find it
Charles B. Phillips Public Library District, 6 North Jackson Street, Newark.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Charles B. Phillips Public Library District branch.
New in Big Grove Township? The Handbook →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 $1.40 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Big Grove Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $185K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $260K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $185K 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 558 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission Township | Robert W. Rowe Public Library District | 2.2 | 40 | C |
| Big Grove Township | Charles B. Phillips Public Library District fine-free | — | 46 | A |
| Fox Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Nettle Creek Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lisbon 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.
- System-wide. Charles B. Phillips Public Library District serves 2,971 people in and around Big Grove Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Big Grove 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 Big Grove Township
Does Big Grove Township have a public library?
Yes. Charles B. Phillips Public Library District, 6 North Jackson Street, serves 2,971 people in and around Big Grove Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Charles B. Phillips Public Library District fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Big Grove Township’s library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 5.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Big Grove Township’s civic life grade?
A Big Grove Township is ahead of 86% 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 Big Grove 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.