Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBrownstown’s library is a branch of Saint Elmo Public Library District, which lends less per resident than 78% of systems its size
Brownstown’s library is the Brownstown Branch Library, a branch of Saint Elmo Public Library District, which serves 6,064 people and lent 12K items last year.
What Brownstown’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, the Saint Elmo Public Library District system sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 11% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Brownstown’s library is a branch of Saint Elmo Public Library District, so they cover the whole system (6,064 people), not just the Brownstown branch.
What’s behind Brownstown’s civic life grade
Brownstown 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Saint Elmo Public Library District serves 6,064 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Saint Elmo Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
12K 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 Brownstown’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
63 programs a year
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
Brownstown Branch Library, 120 East Main Street, Brownstown.
Good at every Saint Elmo Public Library District branch.
New in Brownstown? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Brownstown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $264K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $217K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $264K 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 695 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. Brownstown Branch Library is one branch of Saint Elmo Public Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 6,064 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 Brownstown
Does Brownstown have a public library?
Yes: Brownstown Branch Library, 120 East Main Street, is a branch of Saint Elmo Public Library District, which serves 6,064 people. The branch is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Saint Elmo Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Brownstown’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 1.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Brownstown’s civic life grade?
Brownstown 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 Brownstown.
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.