Photo: David Wilson · CC BY 2.0Bureau Junction’s library logs 1.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Leepertown Township Public Library serves 333 people in and around Bureau Junction. Last year it lent 199 print books and media and logged 571 visits.
The short version on Bureau Junction’s library
Leepertown Township Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Leepertown Township Public Library records 1.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Open only about 15 hours a week
Leepertown Township Public Library keeps short hours: about 15 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Leepertown Township Public Library serves 333 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 20% of the people Leepertown Township Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Leepertown Township Public Library offered 3 programs last year, 9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Bureau Junction’s civic life grade
Bureau Junction 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 under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Leepertown Township Public Library serves 333 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Leepertown Township Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
199 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 Bureau Junction’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 3,699 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
3 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Leepertown Township Public Library, 201 East Nebraska Street, Bureau.
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 Bureau Junction cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $22K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3,664 worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $22K 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 68 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.
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 Bureau Junction
Does Bureau Junction have a public library?
Yes. Leepertown Township Public Library, 201 East Nebraska Street, serves 333 people in and around Bureau Junction (the survey’s count) and is open about 15 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Leepertown Township Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Bureau Junction’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 0.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Bureau Junction’s civic life grade?
Bureau Junction 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 Bureau Junction.
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.