Transfer House · Photo: Ander107 · CC BY-SA 3.0Decatur’s library runs 7.8 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Decatur Public Library serves Decatur’s 70,522 residents. Last year it lent 219K print books and media and logged 159K visits.
The short version on Decatur’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Decatur Public Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Illinois pays a big share
22% of the budget comes from the state, and 75% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
52% of the 548 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 244 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.
What’s behind Decatur’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Decatur is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns, #570 of 754 in Illinois. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Decatur’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($39K–$64K) 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 →
225 community nonprofits are registered in Decatur
3.2 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 (114 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 11 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.0%
6.0% of Decatur’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 Decatur’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Decatur Public Library serves 70,522 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 71 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
219K 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 Decatur’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 192K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
About 5 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Decatur Public Library, 130 North Franklin Street, Decatur.
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 Decatur cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.7M 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 14,907 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Decatur ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forsyth | Forsyth Public Library fine-free | 12.7 | 55 | A |
| Whitmore Township | Argenta-Oreana Public Library District | 6.3 | 39 | C |
| Decatur | Decatur Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 59 | C− |
| Decatur Township | Decatur Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 59 | C |
| Mount Zion | Mount Zion Public Library District | — | 55 | B− |
| Oakley Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Harristown | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| South Wheatland Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Long Creek | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Long Creek Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
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.
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 Decatur
Does Decatur have a public library?
Yes. Decatur Public Library, 130 North Franklin Street, serves Decatur’s 70,522 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Decatur Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Decatur’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 3.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Decatur’s civic life grade?
C− Decatur is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns on civic life, #570 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 Decatur.
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.