Bradford’s library lends 9.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Bradford Public Library District serves 1,437 people in and around Bradford. Last year it lent 14K print books and media and logged 7,528 visits.
What stands out about Bradford Public Library District
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Bradford’s civic life grade
Bradford 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 →
Books and media off the shelf
14K 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 Bradford’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Bradford Public Library District serves 1,437 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Bradford Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
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
Bradford Public Library District, 111 South Peoria Street, Bradford.
No late fees. Good at every Bradford Public Library District branch.
New in Bradford? 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 $2.38 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bradford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $100K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $239K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $100K 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 345 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. Bradford Public Library District serves 1,437 people in and around Bradford, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Bradford.
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 Bradford
Does Bradford have a public library?
Yes. Bradford Public Library District, 111 South Peoria Street, serves 1,437 people in and around Bradford (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bradford Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Bradford’s library?
It logged 5.2 visits and lent 9.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Bradford’s civic life grade?
Bradford 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 Bradford.
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.