Photo: Westkentuckygenealogy · CC BY-SA 3.0Cordova’s library logs 27 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Cordova District Library serves Cordova’s 957 residents. Last year it lent 11K print books and media and logged 26K visits.
What Cordova’s library is like
11 times the programs of a typical library its size
Cordova District Library ran 638 programs last year, about 12 a week. That’s 667 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 11,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Cordova uses its library more than almost any town its size
Cordova District Library logs 27 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Cordova invests in its library
Cordova District Library spends $383 per resident a year, about seven times the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (93%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
A place to get online
Cordova District Library logs about 11 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 5 public computers. That’s 4.2 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
Programs lean toward adults
53% of the 638 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 178 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Cordova’s civic life grade
Cordova 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 →
About 3 kids’ programs 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Cordova District Library serves 957 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
11K 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 Cordova’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
Find it
Cordova District Library, 402 Main Avenue, Cordova.
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 Cordova cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $366K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $316K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $366K 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 440 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Cordova borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cordova | Cordova District Library fine-free | 11.8 | 50 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Cordova Township | Cordova District Library fine-free | 11.8 | 50 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Port Byron Township | River Valley District Library fine-free | 9.8 | 57 | A− |
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.
- Visits count everyone. Cordova’s 25,874 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- 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 Cordova
Does Cordova have a public library?
Yes. Cordova District Library, 402 Main Avenue, serves Cordova’s 957 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cordova District Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Cordova’s library?
It logged 27.0 visits and lent 11.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Cordova’s civic life grade?
Cordova 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 Cordova.
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.