Blandinsville’s library lends 5.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Blandinsville-Hire Library District serves 1,927 people in and around Blandinsville. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and logged 5,308 visits.
The short version on Blandinsville’s library
Programs are almost all for children
97% of the 119 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% 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; Blandinsville-Hire Library District serves 1,927 people in and around Blandinsville, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Blandinsville’s civic life grade
Blandinsville 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 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Blandinsville-Hire Library District serves 1,927 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Blandinsville-Hire Library District system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
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
Blandinsville-Hire Library District, 130 South Main Street, Blandinsville.
No late fees. Good at every Blandinsville-Hire Library District branch.
New in Blandinsville? 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 $1.66 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Blandinsville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $114K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $190K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $114K 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 952 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Blandinsville-Hire Library District serves 1,927 people in and around Blandinsville, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Blandinsville.
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 Blandinsville
Does Blandinsville have a public library?
Yes. Blandinsville-Hire Library District, 130 South Main Street, serves 1,927 people in and around Blandinsville (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Blandinsville-Hire Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Blandinsville’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 5.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Blandinsville’s civic life grade?
Blandinsville 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 Blandinsville.
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.