Photo: Asteve77767 · CC BY-SA 3.0Breese’s library logs 4.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Breese Public Library serves Breese’s 4,641 residents. Last year it lent 26K print books and media and logged 23K visits.
What stands out about Breese’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Breese’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Breese is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #55 of 754 in Illinois. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Breese’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
31 community nonprofits are registered in Breese
7.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.9%
9.9% of Breese’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 Breese’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Breese Public Library serves 4,641 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
26K 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 Breese’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 24K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
57 programs a year
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
Breese Public Library, 530 North Third Street, Breese.
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 $1.94 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Breese cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $234K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $452K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $234K 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 1,030 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Breese Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 Breese
Does Breese have a public library?
Yes. Breese Public Library, 530 North Third Street, serves Breese’s 4,641 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Breese Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Breese’s library?
It logged 4.8 visits and lent 5.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Breese’s civic life grade?
A Breese is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on civic life, #55 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 Breese.
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.