Creston’s library runs 136 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Creston-Dement Public Library District serves 863 people in and around Creston. Last year it lent 3,722 print books and media and logged 5,169 visits.
What Creston’s library is like
Few residents carry a card
Only 19% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
Creston-Dement Public Library District spends $216 per resident a year, about four times the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (91%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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; Creston-Dement Public Library District serves 863 people in and around Creston, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Creston’s civic life grade
Creston 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 →
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Creston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $186K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $84K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $186K 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 165 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Creston-Dement Public Library District serves 863 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Creston-Dement Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
3,722 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 Creston’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
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
Creston-Dement Public Library District, 107 South Main Street, Creston.
Good at every Creston-Dement Public Library District branch.
New in Creston? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
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. Creston-Dement Public Library District serves 863 people in and around Creston, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Creston.
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 Creston
Does Creston have a public library?
Yes. Creston-Dement Public Library District, 107 South Main Street, serves 863 people in and around Creston (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Creston-Dement Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Creston’s library?
It logged 6.0 visits and lent 4.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Creston’s civic life grade?
Creston 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 Creston.
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.