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Champaign Public Library

Champaign City Township’s library logs 7.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size

Champaign Public Library serves 88,302 people in and around Champaign City Township from 2 locations. Last year it lent 1.2M print books and media and logged 680K visits.

200 West Green Street, Champaign 61820 · about 70 hours a week
A−Civic lifeAhead of 79% of U.S. towns · #119 of 754 in Illinois. Library visits, nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
1.2M
14.1 per resident
Visits a year
680K
7.7 per resident · Above typical (2.6)
Programs & events
1,916
about 37 a week · 73K attended
Cardholders
39%
34,046 cards
Open
70 hrs
a week
In brief

What Champaign City Township’s library is like

Champaign City Township uses its library more than almost any town its size

Champaign Public Library logs 7.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 14 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 96% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓

Open about 70 hours a week

The main library is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 195 items go out. The buildings ↓

Champaign City Township out-borrows every town next door

At 14.1 loans per resident, Champaign City Township leads the four towns here. The closest is Champaign, at 14.1. Libraries next door ↓

The shelves work hard

Each of the 302,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.1 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓

Programs draw a crowd

73,000 people came to the library’s 1,916 programs last year: 0.8 per resident, against a typical 0.3, more than at 92% of similar-size libraries. 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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Champaign City Township’s civic life grade

On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Champaign City Township is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #119 of 754 in Illinois. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank highest.

A−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Champaign City Township’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 79%
FewerMore
Illinois towns we grade (754)Ahead of 84%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $42K–$70K (6,666)Ahead of 76%

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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

385 community nonprofits are registered in Champaign City Township

4.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture310.34 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation340.38 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans810.90 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services570.63 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education780.87 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health130.14 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals140.16 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other770.86 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (91 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 22 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.

Volunteering

8.3%

8.3% of Champaign City 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 Champaign City Township’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 195 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

680K
visits
7.7 per resident
1.2M
loans, print + digital
14.1 per resident
1,916
programs & events
73K attended
34K
library cards
39% of people served
Every open hour195items borrowed
Every week1,399people at a program
Every day259Wi-Fi sessions
83 staff (full-time equivalent)137 public computers302K books & media on the shelves
How it compares

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.

Visits per resident 7.7 visits · typical 2.6Top 10%
Borrowing per resident 14.1 print items · typical 3.7Top 10%
Program attendance 0.8 attendees · typical 0.3Top 10%
Programs offered 21.7 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Higher than 73%
Cardholders 39% of residents · typical 39%Lower than 52%
Spending $102 per resident · typical $40Top 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Champaign Public Library serves 88,302 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

1.2M 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 Champaign City Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.

How hard the shelves work
4.1×

Each of the 302K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.1 times last year, on average.

Kids & programs

About 24 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Champaign City Township →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5998
Ages 6–11248
Teens184
Adults486
All ages0
Little ones
19.2

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

73K
people at programs
1,916
programs
The buildings

2 places to borrow in Champaign City Township

Champaign Public Library, 200 West Green Street, Champaign.

70
hours open a week
122,600
square feet
302K
books & media

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

Other libraries in Champaign City Township

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.45 worth

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

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
3
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
0
Your card saves you about
$612
a year at retail prices · $51 a month

Who pays for it
$102 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $9.1M.

Local taxes 78%State 3%Federal 0%Gifts & other 19%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $22M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9.1M 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 34,046 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Champaign City Township borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
Champaign City TownshipChampaign Public Library fine-free14.170A−
ChampaignChampaign Public Library fine-free14.170A−
UrbanaUrbana Free Library fine-free13.869A−
Cunningham TownshipUrbana Free Library fine-free13.869A−
Champaign TownshipNone of its own——C+
Hensley TownshipNone of its own——C−
Urbana TownshipNone of its own——C−
Somer TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
SavoyNone 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).

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 Champaign City Township

Does Champaign City Township have a public library?

Yes. Champaign Public Library, 200 West Green Street, serves 88,302 people in and around Champaign City Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Champaign Public Library fine-free?

Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Champaign City Township’s library?

It logged 7.7 visits and lent 14.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is Champaign City Township’s civic life grade?

A− Champaign City Township is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on civic life, #119 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 Champaign City 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.