Photo: ProfDEH at en.wikipedia · Public domainChillicothe’s library runs 48 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Chillicothe Public Library District serves 12,259 people in and around Chillicothe. Last year it lent 49K print books and media and logged 40K visits.
What stands out about Chillicothe Public Library District
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Chillicothe’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Chillicothe is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #44 of 754 in Illinois. Chillicothe is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks 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 →
35 community nonprofits are registered in Chillicothe
5.9 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. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.4%
10.4% of Chillicothe’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 Chillicothe’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 kids’ programs 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Chillicothe Public Library District serves 12,259 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Chillicothe Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
49K 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 Chillicothe’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Find it
Chillicothe Public Library District, 430 North Bradley Avenue, Chillicothe.
No late fees. Good at every Chillicothe Public Library District branch.
New in Chillicothe? 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 $1.43 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chillicothe cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $680K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $975K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $680K 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 2,556 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chillicothe | Chillicothe Public Library District fine-free | — | 56 | A |
| Rome | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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.
- System-wide. Chillicothe Public Library District serves 12,259 people in and around Chillicothe, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Chillicothe.
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 Chillicothe
Does Chillicothe have a public library?
Yes. Chillicothe Public Library District, 430 North Bradley Avenue, serves 12,259 people in and around Chillicothe (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chillicothe Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Chillicothe’s library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 4.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Chillicothe’s civic life grade?
A Chillicothe is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life, #44 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 Chillicothe.
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.