Photo: Stevedrone91 · CC BY-SA 4.0Dixon’s library lends 7.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Dixon Public Library serves Dixon’s 15,274 residents. Last year it lent 116K print books and media and logged 23K visits.
The short version on Dixon’s library
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 82% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 78%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
76% of the 221 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 14% of the people Dixon Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 40% 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.
What’s behind Dixon’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Dixon is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns, #312 of 754 in Illinois. Dixon’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
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 →
96 community nonprofits are registered in Dixon
6.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (21 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.1%
8.1% of Dixon’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 Dixon’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
116K 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 Dixon’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 72K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Dixon Public Library serves 15,274 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 42 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
Find it
Dixon Public Library, 221 South Hennepin Avenue, Dixon.
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 $3.45 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dixon cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $589K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $589K 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 2,199 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Dixon Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 Dixon
Does Dixon have a public library?
Yes. Dixon Public Library, 221 South Hennepin Avenue, serves Dixon’s 15,274 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dixon Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Dixon’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 7.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Dixon’s civic life grade?
B− Dixon is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on civic life, #312 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 Dixon.
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.