Photo: Illinois2011 (Tyler Warren) · Public domainEdwardsville Township’s library lends 7.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Edwardsville Public Library serves 26,808 people in and around Edwardsville Township. Last year it lent 193K print books and media and logged 98K visits.
The short version on Edwardsville Township’s library
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Edwardsville Public Library is above the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, with four in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Edwardsville Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. Three of the five libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. 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.
What’s behind Edwardsville Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Edwardsville Township is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #59 of 754 in Illinois. Edwardsville Township 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 →
204 community nonprofits are registered in Edwardsville Township
5.0 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 (37 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.9%
10.9% of Edwardsville Township’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 Edwardsville Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Edwardsville Public Library serves 26,808 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 59 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
193K 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 Edwardsville Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 91K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.1 times 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
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
2 places to borrow in Edwardsville Township
Edwardsville Public Library, 112 South Kansas Street, Edwardsville.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Edwardsville Township
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.18 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Edwardsville Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M 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 11,665 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Edwardsville Township ranks 2nd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glen Carbon | Glen Carbon Centennial Library fine-free | 7.2 | 63 | B+ |
| Edwardsville Township | Edwardsville Public Library | 7.2 | 63 | A |
| Edwardsville | Edwardsville Public Library | 7.2 | 63 | A− |
| Maryville | Maryville Community Library District fine-free | 2.8 | 56 | B |
| Collinsville Township | Collinsville Memorial Library Center fine-free | 2.7 | 60 | B− |
| Fort Russell Township | Bethalto Public Library District | — | 47 | C |
| Pin Oak Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Chouteau Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Pontoon Beach | 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 Edwardsville Township
Does Edwardsville Township have a public library?
Yes. Edwardsville Public Library, 112 South Kansas Street, serves 26,808 people in and around Edwardsville Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 63 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Edwardsville Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Edwardsville Township’s library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 7.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Edwardsville Township’s civic life grade?
A Edwardsville Township is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #59 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 Edwardsville 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.