Photo: Ruhe1986 at English Wikipedia · Public domainCarrier Mills’ library lends 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Carrier Mills-Stonefort Public Library District serves 2,636 people in and around Carrier Mills. Last year it lent 2,254 print books and media and logged 5,600 visits.
What Carrier Mills’s library is like
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 ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Carrier Mills-Stonefort Public Library District lends 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, fewer than 92% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
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; Carrier Mills-Stonefort Public Library District serves 2,636 people in and around Carrier Mills, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Carrier Mills’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Carrier Mills is ahead of 27% of U.S. towns. Carrier Mills is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($38K–$63K) 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Carrier Mills
2.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.4%
7.4% of Carrier Mills’ 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 Carrier Mills’ residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Carrier Mills-Stonefort Public Library District serves 2,636 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
A year at Carrier Mills-Stonefort Public Library District
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Carrier Mills-Stonefort Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
2,254 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 Carrier Mills’ library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Find it
Carrier Mills-Stonefort Public Library District, 109 Oak Street, Carrier Mills.
Good at every Carrier Mills-Stonefort Public Library District branch.
New in Carrier Mills? 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 Carrier Mills cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $99K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $39K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $99K 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 290 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. Carrier Mills-Stonefort Public Library District serves 2,636 people in and around Carrier Mills, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Carrier Mills.
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 Carrier Mills
Does Carrier Mills have a public library?
Yes. Carrier Mills-Stonefort Public Library District, 109 Oak Street, serves 2,636 people in and around Carrier Mills (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Carrier Mills-Stonefort Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Carrier Mills’ library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 0.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Carrier Mills’ civic life grade?
C Carrier Mills is ahead of 27% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Carrier Mills.
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.