Canteen Township’s library runs 27 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Mississippi Valley Library District serves 33,081 people in and around Canteen Township. Last year it lent 88K print books and media and logged 125K visits.
What stands out about Canteen Township’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Canteen Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Canteen Township is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns, #641 of 754 in Illinois. Canteen Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Canteen Township’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($37K–$62K) 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Canteen Township
3.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.0%
4.0% of Canteen 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 Canteen Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Mississippi Valley Library District serves 33,081 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
88K 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 Canteen Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 76K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
About 6 kids’ programs a week
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
Fairmont City Library Center, 4444 Collinsville Road, Fairmont City.
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 $1.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Canteen Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.3M 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 17,178 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Canteen Township ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairview Heights | Fairview Heights Public Library | 3.8 | 54 | B− |
| Caseyville Township | Fairview Heights Public Library | 3.8 | 54 | C+ |
| Canteen Township | Fairmont City Library Center fine-free | 2.7 | 46 | D |
| Fairmont City | Fairmont City Library Center fine-free | 2.7 | 46 | C− |
| Belleville | Belleville Public Library fine-free | 2.1 | 60 | C |
| East St. Louis Township | East St. Louis Public Library | — | 58 | — graded with its twin city |
| East St. Louis | East St. Louis Public Library | — | 58 | C− |
| Washington Park | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Nameoki Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Stites Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Stookey Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
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.
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 Canteen Township
Does Canteen Township have a public library?
Yes. Mississippi Valley Library District, 4444 Collinsville Road, serves 33,081 people in and around Canteen Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mississippi Valley Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Canteen Township’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 2.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Canteen Township’s civic life grade?
D Canteen Township is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns on civic life, #641 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 Canteen 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.