Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0Chenoa’s library runs 84 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Chenoa Public Library District serves 1,970 people in and around Chenoa. Last year it lent 3,124 print books and media and logged 5,968 visits.
The short version on Chenoa’s library
Well funded, but lightly used
Chenoa Public Library District spends $103 per resident, more than 83% of similar-size libraries. Use doesn’t match: visits per resident are lower than at 57% of them. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
52% of the 165 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 58 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; Chenoa Public Library District serves 1,970 people in and around Chenoa, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Chenoa’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Chenoa is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns. Chenoa’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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Chenoa
6.1 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.
9.1%
9.1% of Chenoa’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 Chenoa’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Chenoa Public Library District serves 1,970 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Chenoa Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
3,124 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 Chenoa’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 1 kids’ program a week
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
Chenoa Public Library District, 230 South Green Street, Chenoa.
No late fees. Good at every Chenoa Public Library District branch.
New in Chenoa? 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 Chenoa cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $203K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $65K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $203K 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 537 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. Chenoa Public Library District serves 1,970 people in and around Chenoa, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Chenoa.
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 Chenoa
Does Chenoa have a public library?
Yes. Chenoa Public Library District, 230 South Green Street, serves 1,970 people in and around Chenoa (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chenoa Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Chenoa’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 1.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Chenoa’s civic life grade?
B+ Chenoa is ahead of 72% 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 Chenoa.
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.