Photo: Gerald Roll · Public domainEffingham’s library lends 16 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Effingham Public Library serves Effingham’s 12,252 residents. Last year it lent 197K print books and media and logged 75K visits.
What Effingham’s library is like
Effingham uses its library more than almost any town its size
Effingham Public Library logs 6.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 16 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 86% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Programs draw a crowd
26,000 people came to the library’s 633 programs last year: 2.1 per resident, against a typical 0.4, more than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in Illinois for borrowing
Effingham ranks #14 of 259 Illinois towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 16 items per resident, more than at 98% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
A place to get online
Effingham Public Library logs about 186 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 24 public computers. That’s 5.5 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
Effingham invests in its library
Effingham Public Library spends $96 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. 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 Effingham’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Effingham is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #26 of 754 in Illinois. All three 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 →
81 community nonprofits are registered in Effingham
6.6 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 (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
11.4%
11.4% of Effingham’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 Effingham’s residents live; 2022.
About 8 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Effingham Public Library serves 12,252 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 65 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
197K 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 Effingham’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 53K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.7 times last year, on average.
Find it
Effingham Public Library, 200 North Third Street, Effingham.
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 $3.24 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Effingham cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 3,469 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Effingham | Effingham Public Library fine-free | 16.1 | 58 | A |
| Douglas Township | Effingham Public Library fine-free | 16.1 | 58 | A |
| Summit Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Teutopolis Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
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 Effingham
Does Effingham have a public library?
Yes. Effingham Public Library, 200 North Third Street, serves Effingham’s 12,252 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Effingham Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Effingham’s library?
It logged 6.1 visits and lent 16.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Effingham’s civic life grade?
A Effingham is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on civic life, #26 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 Effingham.
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.