Cobden’s library is a branch of Stinson Memorial Public Library District, which lends less per resident than 75% of systems its size
Cobden’s library is the Cobden Branch Library, a branch of Stinson Memorial Public Library District, which serves 13,779 people and lent 28K items last year.
The short version on Cobden’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, the Stinson Memorial Public Library District system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on seven. How it compares ↓
Open only about 18 hours a week
The Cobden branch keeps short hours: about 18 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 9% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; Cobden’s library is a branch of Stinson Memorial Public Library District, so they cover the whole system (13,779 people), not just the Cobden branch.
What’s behind Cobden’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cobden is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns. Cobden is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($35K–$58K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
3 community nonprofits are registered in Cobden
2.7 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.3%
6.3% of Cobden’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 Cobden’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Stinson Memorial Public Library District serves 13,779 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Stinson Memorial Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
28K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
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
Cobden Branch Library, 100 South Front Street, Cobden.
Good at every Stinson Memorial Public Library District branch.
New in Cobden? 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 $1.03 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cobden cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $434K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $447K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $434K 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 1,256 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Cobden Branch Library is one branch of Stinson Memorial Public Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 13,779 people it serves.
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 Cobden
Does Cobden have a public library?
Yes: Cobden Branch Library, 100 South Front Street, is a branch of Stinson Memorial Public Library District, which serves 13,779 people. The branch is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Stinson Memorial Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Cobden’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Cobden’s civic life grade?
C− Cobden is ahead of 20% 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 Cobden.
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.