Photo: BonkerStonker29 · CC BY-SA 4.0Champaign’s library logs 7.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Champaign Public Library serves Champaign’s 88,302 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 1.2M print books and media and logged 680K visits.
What Champaign’s library is like
Champaign 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 ↓
Top 10% in Illinois for borrowing
Champaign ranks #24 of 259 Illinois towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 14 items per resident, more than at 96% of similar-size libraries nationwide. 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 out-borrows every town next door
At 14.1 loans per resident, Champaign leads the four towns here. The closest is Champaign City Township, 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 ↓
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.
What’s behind Champaign’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Champaign 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.
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 →
385 community nonprofits are registered in Champaign
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
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.
8.3%
8.3% of Champaign’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’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 195 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
Champaign Public Library serves 88,302 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
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’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 302K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.1 times last year, on average.
About 24 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.
3 places to borrow in Champaign
Champaign Public Library, 200 West Green Street, Champaign.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Champaign
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 cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $9.1M.
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.
Libraries next door
Champaign borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champaign | Champaign Public Library fine-free | 14.1 | 70 | A− |
| Champaign City Township | Champaign Public Library fine-free | 14.1 | 70 | A− |
| Urbana | Urbana Free Library fine-free | 13.8 | 69 | A− |
| Cunningham Township | Urbana Free Library fine-free | 13.8 | 69 | A− |
| Champaign Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Hensley Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Urbana Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Somer Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Savoy | 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 Champaign
Does Champaign have a public library?
Yes. Champaign Public Library, 200 West Green Street, serves Champaign’s 88,302 residents (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’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’s civic life grade?
A− Champaign 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.
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.