Photo: Daniel Schwen · CC BY-SA 4.0Bloomington City Township’s library lends 9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Bloomington Public Library serves 78,680 people in and around Bloomington City Township. Last year it lent 705K print books and media and logged 148K visits.
The short version on Bloomington City Township’s library
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 67%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Bloomington Public Library offered 356 programs last year, 4.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 64 hours a week
Bloomington Public Library is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 166 items go out. 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.
What’s behind Bloomington City Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bloomington City Township is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns, #423 of 754 in Illinois. Bloomington City Township’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($58K–$97K) 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 →
323 community nonprofits are registered in Bloomington City Township
4.1 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 (78 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 9 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.8%
7.8% of Bloomington City 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 Bloomington City Township’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
705K 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 Bloomington City Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 259K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.7 times last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Bloomington Public Library serves 78,680 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 166 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, 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
Bloomington Public Library, 205 East Olive Street, Bloomington.
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 $2.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bloomington City Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $5.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $12M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.3M 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 20,992 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Bloomington City Township ranks 4th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal Township | Normal Public Library fine-free | 13.3 | 62 | — graded with its twin city |
| Normal | Normal Public Library fine-free | 13.3 | 62 | B− |
| Towanda Township | Towanda District Library fine-free | 9.4 | 34 | B+ |
| Bloomington City Township | Bloomington Public Library fine-free | 9.0 | 64 | C+ |
| Bloomington | Bloomington Public Library fine-free | 9.0 | 64 | C+ |
| Bloomington Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Old Town Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Dale Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Dry Grove Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Twin Grove | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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.
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 Bloomington City Township
Does Bloomington City Township have a public library?
Yes. Bloomington Public Library, 205 East Olive Street, serves 78,680 people in and around Bloomington City Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bloomington Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Bloomington City Township’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 9.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Bloomington City Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Bloomington City Township is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns on civic life, #423 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 Bloomington City 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.