Brighton Township’s library is a branch of Brighton Memorial Library District, which lends more per resident than 77% of systems its size
Brighton Township’s library is the Brighton Memorial Public Library, a branch of Brighton Memorial Library District, which serves 2,260 people and lent 16K items last year.
What stands out about Brighton Memorial Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Brighton Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Brighton Township is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #496 of 754 in Illinois. Brighton Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Brighton Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($69K–$115K) 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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Brighton Township
2.0 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.5%
8.5% of Brighton 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 Brighton Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Brighton Memorial Library District serves 2,260 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Brighton Memorial Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
16K 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 Brighton Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
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
Brighton Memorial Public Library, 110 North Main Street, Brighton.
No late fees. Good at every Brighton Memorial Library District branch.
New in Brighton Township? 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 $3.57 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Brighton Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $85K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $305K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $85K 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 472 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton Township | Brighton Memorial Public Library fine-free | — | 30 | C |
| Bunker Hill Township | Bunker Hill Public Library District fine-free | — | 37 | B+ |
| Foster Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Piasa Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Shipman Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
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.
- System-wide. Brighton Memorial Public Library is one branch of Brighton Memorial Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 2,260 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 Brighton Township
Does Brighton Township have a public library?
Yes: Brighton Memorial Public Library, 110 North Main Street, is a branch of Brighton Memorial Library District, which serves 2,260 people. The branch is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Brighton Memorial Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Brighton Township’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 7.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Brighton Township’s civic life grade?
C Brighton Township is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on civic life, #496 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 Brighton 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.