Crab Orchard’s library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Crab Orchard Public Library District serves 6,827 people in and around Crab Orchard. Last year it lent 10K print books and media and logged 5,052 visits.
Crab Orchard’s library, in brief
Crab Orchard Public Library District is used less than most libraries its size
Crab Orchard Public Library District records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $27 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. 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; Crab Orchard Public Library District serves 6,827 people in and around Crab Orchard, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Crab Orchard’s civic life grade
Crab Orchard 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 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Crab Orchard Public Library District serves 6,827 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Crab Orchard Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
10K 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 Crab Orchard’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 2 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.
Find it
Crab Orchard Public Library District, 20012 Crab Orchard Road, Marion.
Good at every Crab Orchard Public Library District branch.
New in Crab Orchard? 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 $1.05 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Crab Orchard cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $183K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $191K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $183K 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 795 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.
- System-wide. Crab Orchard Public Library District serves 6,827 people in and around Crab Orchard, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Crab Orchard.
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 Crab Orchard
Does Crab Orchard have a public library?
Yes. Crab Orchard Public Library District, 20012 Crab Orchard Road, serves 6,827 people in and around Crab Orchard (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Crab Orchard Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Crab Orchard’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 1.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Crab Orchard’s civic life grade?
Crab Orchard 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 Crab Orchard.
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.