Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Coal City’s library runs 137 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Coal City Public Library District serves 11,524 people in and around Coal City. Last year it lent 99K print books and media and logged 79K visits.
The short version on Coal City’s library
Six times the programs of a typical library its size
Coal City Public Library District ran 1,578 programs last year, about 30 a week. That’s 137 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 32,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Coal City Public Library District logs 6.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 8.6 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 85% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
Coal City Public Library District spends $117 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (93%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
69% of the 1,578 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 16 a week 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; Coal City Public Library District serves 11,524 people in and around Coal City, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Coal City’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Coal City is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns, #308 of 754 in Illinois. Coal City 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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in Coal City
3.7 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.9%
7.9% of Coal City’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 Coal City’s residents live; 2022.
About 21 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.
Coal City Public Library District serves 11,524 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 33 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Coal City Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
99K 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 Coal City’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Find it
Coal City Public Library District, 85 North Garfield Street, Coal City.
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 $1.49 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Coal City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 3,639 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coal City | Coal City Public Library District | — | 58 | B− |
| Braidwood | Fossil Ridge Public Library District fine-free | — | 58 | C |
| Diamond | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Carbon Hill | 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.
- System-wide. Coal City Public Library District serves 11,524 people in and around Coal City, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Coal City.
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 Coal City
Does Coal City have a public library?
Yes. Coal City Public Library District, 85 North Garfield Street, serves 11,524 people in and around Coal City (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Coal City Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Coal City’s library?
It logged 6.9 visits and lent 8.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Coal City’s civic life grade?
B− Coal City is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on civic life, #308 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 Coal City.
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.