Bowen’s library is a branch of Greater West Central Public Library District, which lends less per resident than 58% of systems its size
Bowen’s library is the Bowen Branch Library, a branch of Greater West Central Public Library District, which serves 4,101 people and lent 13K items last year.
What Bowen’s library is like
Open only about 10 hours a week
The Bowen branch keeps short hours: about 10 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Programs draw a crowd
9,146 people came to the system’s 310 programs last year: 2.2 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
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; Bowen’s library is a branch of Greater West Central Public Library District, so they cover the whole system (4,101 people), not just the Bowen branch.
What’s behind Bowen’s civic life grade
Bowen 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 →
About 3 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Greater West Central Public Library District serves 4,101 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Greater West Central Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
13K 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 Bowen’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Find it
Bowen Branch Library, 116 East Fifth Street, Bowen.
Good at every Greater West Central Public Library District branch.
New in Bowen? 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 $1.55 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bowen cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $219K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $341K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $219K 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 1,554 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. Bowen Branch Library is one branch of Greater West Central Public Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 4,101 people it serves.
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 Bowen
Does Bowen have a public library?
Yes: Bowen Branch Library, 116 East Fifth Street, is a branch of Greater West Central Public Library District, which serves 4,101 people. The branch is open about 10 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Greater West Central Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Bowen’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 3.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Bowen’s civic life grade?
Bowen 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 Bowen.
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.