Thompson Mill Covered Bridge · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainDry Point Township’s library lends 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Dry Point Township Library serves Dry Point Township’s 951 residents. Last year it lent 1,138 print books and media and logged 2,200 visits.
What Dry Point Township’s library is like
Few programs for a library this size
Dry Point Township Library offered 0 programs last year, 0 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60.
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Dry Point Township Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Dry Point Township Library serves 951 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Dry Point Township Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Dry Point Township Library lends 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, fewer than 88% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
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 Dry Point Township’s civic life grade
Dry Point Township 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Dry Point Township Library serves 951 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,138 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 Dry Point Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Find it
Dry Point Township Library, County Highway 651, Cowden.
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 Dry Point Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $26K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $19K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $26K 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 377 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herrick Township | Herrick Township Public Library fine-free | 17.7 | 20 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Dry Point Township | Dry Point Township Library | 1.2 | 20 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lakewood Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Holland Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Loudon Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Bowling Green Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 are a typical-week estimate. Dry Point Township 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 Dry Point Township
Does Dry Point Township have a public library?
Yes. Dry Point Township Library, County Highway 651, serves Dry Point Township’s 951 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dry Point Township Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Dry Point Township’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 1.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Dry Point Township’s civic life grade?
Dry Point Township 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 Dry Point Township.
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.