Photo: jrmyers · CC BY-SA 3.0Charleston’s library runs 12 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Charleston Carnegie Public Library serves Charleston’s 17,286 residents. Last year it lent 66K print books and media and logged 45K visits.
The short version on Charleston’s library
Few residents carry a card
Only 17% of the people Charleston Carnegie Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
70% of the 213 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 0 for ages 0–5. 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.
What’s behind Charleston’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Charleston is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns, #319 of 754 in Illinois. Charleston’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
79 community nonprofits are registered in Charleston
4.6 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 (25 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.8%
7.8% of Charleston’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 Charleston’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Charleston Carnegie Public Library serves 17,286 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
66K 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 Charleston’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 56K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Charleston Carnegie Public Library, 712 Sixth Street, Charleston.
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 $2.05 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Charleston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $614K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $614K 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 2,853 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Charleston borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston | Charleston Carnegie Public Library fine-free | 3.8 | 48 | B− |
| Charleston Township | Charleston Carnegie Public Library fine-free | 3.8 | 48 | — graded with its twin city |
| Mattoon | Mattoon Public Library fine-free | 2.7 | 44 | B− |
| Hutton Township | None 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).
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 Charleston
Does Charleston have a public library?
Yes. Charleston Carnegie Public Library, 712 Sixth Street, serves Charleston’s 17,286 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Charleston Carnegie Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Charleston’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 3.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Charleston’s civic life grade?
B− Charleston is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns on civic life, #319 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 Charleston.
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.