Photo: Dual Freq · CC BY 2.5Cisco’s library runs 122 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Willow Branch Township Library serves 966 people in and around Cisco. Last year it lent 1,674 print books and media and logged 1,473 visits.
Cisco’s library, in brief
Willow Branch Township Library is used less than most libraries its size
Willow Branch Township Library records 1.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Willow Branch Township Library serves 966 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 25 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 19% of the people Willow Branch Township Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
Willow Branch Township Library serves more than Cisco
The library’s service area covers 966 people in and around Cisco, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Cisco’s civic life grade
Cisco isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Willow Branch Township Library serves 966 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,674 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 Cisco’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Find it
Willow Branch Township Library, 330 North Eldon Street, Cisco.
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 Cisco cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $62K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $35K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $62K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 182 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.
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 Cisco
Does Cisco have a public library?
Yes. Willow Branch Township Library, 330 North Eldon Street, serves 966 people in and around Cisco (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Willow Branch Township Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Cisco’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 1.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Cisco’s civic life grade?
Cisco isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Cisco.
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.