Photo: Rmassey53 · CC BY-SA 4.0Dunlap’s library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Dunlap Public Library District serves 6,482 people in and around Dunlap. Last year it lent 82K print books and media and logged 44K visits.
The short version on Dunlap’s library
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Dunlap Public Library District ran 894 programs last year, about 17 a week. That’s 138 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 12,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Dunlap Public Library District logs 6.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 85% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
67% of the 894 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 210 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Dunlap Public Library District spends $92 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (94%) 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; Dunlap Public Library District serves 6,482 people in and around Dunlap, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Dunlap’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Dunlap is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns. Dunlap is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Dunlap
4.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.3%
9.3% of Dunlap’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 Dunlap’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Dunlap Public Library District serves 6,482 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 33 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Dunlap Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
82K 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 Dunlap’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Find it
Dunlap Public Library District, 302 South First Street, Dunlap.
No late fees. Good at every Dunlap Public Library District branch.
New in Dunlap? 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 $2.77 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dunlap cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $598K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $598K 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 1,752 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. Dunlap Public Library District serves 6,482 people in and around Dunlap, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Dunlap.
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 Dunlap
Does Dunlap have a public library?
Yes. Dunlap Public Library District, 302 South First Street, serves 6,482 people in and around Dunlap (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dunlap Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Dunlap’s library?
It logged 6.8 visits and lent 12.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Dunlap’s civic life grade?
A− Dunlap is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Dunlap.
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.