Catlin’s library logs 1.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Catlin Public Library District serves 3,116 people in and around Catlin. Last year it lent 11K print books and media and logged 5,924 visits.
The short version on Catlin’s library
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
77% of the 114 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 20 were for children. 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; Catlin Public Library District serves 3,116 people in and around Catlin, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Catlin’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Catlin is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns. Catlin is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Catlin’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Catlin
3.2 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.7%
13.7% of Catlin’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 Catlin’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Catlin Public Library District serves 3,116 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Catlin Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
11K 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 Catlin’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
114 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
Catlin Public Library District, 101 Mapleleaf Drive, Catlin.
No late fees. Good at every Catlin Public Library District branch.
New in Catlin? The Handbook →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 $1.61 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Catlin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $142K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $229K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $142K 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 408 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. Catlin Public Library District serves 3,116 people in and around Catlin, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Catlin.
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 Catlin
Does Catlin have a public library?
Yes. Catlin Public Library District, 101 Mapleleaf Drive, serves 3,116 people in and around Catlin (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Catlin Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Catlin’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 3.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Catlin’s civic life grade?
A− Catlin is ahead of 76% 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 Catlin.
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.