Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Carlinville Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Carlinville Chapter HouseCarlinville Chapter House · Photo: Boscophotos · CC BY-SA 3.0
Carlinville Public Library

Carlinville Township’s library lends 5.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size

Carlinville Public Library serves 5,710 people in and around Carlinville Township. Last year it lent 30K print books and media and logged 22K visits.

510 North Broad Street, Carlinville 62626 · about 50 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
30K
5.2 per resident
Visits a year
22K
3.9 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
187
about 4 a week · 3,389 attended
Cardholders
20%
1,128 cards
Open
50 hrs
a week

What stands out about Carlinville Township’s library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Carlinville Township’s civic life grade

Carlinville Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Carlinville Township’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

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.

Visits per resident 3.9 visits · typical 3Higher than 63%
Borrowing per resident 5.2 print items · typical 3.8Higher than 66%
Program attendance 0.6 attendees · typical 0.5Higher than 57%
Programs offered 32.7 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 52%
Cardholders 20% of residents · typical 42%Lower than 86%
Spending $38 per resident · typical $43Lower than 57%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Carlinville Public Library serves 5,710 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

22K
visits
3.9 per resident
30K
loans, print + digital
5.2 per resident
187
programs & events
3,389 attended
1,128
library cards
20% of people served
Every open hour12items borrowed
Every week65people at a program
Every day33Wi-Fi sessions
5 staff (full-time equivalent)5 public computers34K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

30K 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 Carlinville Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.

How hard the shelves work
0.9×

Each of the 34K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.

Kids & programs

About 2 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Carlinville Township →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–553
Ages 6–1163
Teens7
Adults61
All ages3
Little ones
1

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

3,389
people at programs
187
programs
The building

Find it

Carlinville Public Library, 510 North Broad Street, Carlinville.

50
hours open a week
7,450
square feet
34K
books & media
With a card

Ask at the desk about getting a card.

New in Carlinville Township? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.67 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Carlinville Township cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
2
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
1
Your card saves you about
$444
a year at retail prices · $37 a month

Who pays for it
$38 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $216K.

Local taxes 79%State 9%Federal 0%Gifts & other 11%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $578K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $216K 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 1,128 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
Carlinville TownshipCarlinville Public Library5.250— graded with its twin city
Brushy Mound TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
Bird TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
Shaws Point TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
South Otter TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents

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).

How to read these numbers

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 Carlinville Township

Does Carlinville Township have a public library?

Yes. Carlinville Public Library, 510 North Broad Street, serves 5,710 people in and around Carlinville Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Carlinville Public Library fine-free?

It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Carlinville Township’s library?

It logged 3.9 visits and lent 5.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Carlinville Township’s civic life grade?

Carlinville Township 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 Carlinville Township.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.