Elk Township’s library runs 53 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Rick Warren Memorial Public Library District serves 2,797 people in and around Elk Township. Last year it lent 5,222 print books and media and logged 4,179 visits.
What Elk Township’s library is like
Few residents carry a card
Only 9% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
89% of the 148 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 14 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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; Rick Warren Memorial Public Library District serves 2,797 people in and around Elk Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Elk Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Elk Township is ahead of 6% of U.S. towns. Elk Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Elk Township’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Rick Warren Memorial Public Library District spends $21 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($35K–$59K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
3 community nonprofits are registered in Elk Township
2.1 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.9%
4.9% of Elk 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 Elk Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Rick Warren Memorial Public Library District serves 2,797 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Rick Warren Memorial Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
5,222 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 Elk Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
148 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Rick Warren Memorial Public Library District, 114 South Fourth Street, Elkville.
No late fees. Good at every Rick Warren Memorial Public Library District branch.
New in Elk Township? 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 $2.25 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elk Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $59K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $132K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $59K 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 248 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Township | Rick Warren Memorial Public Library District fine-free | — | 35 | D |
| Six Mile Township | Zeigler Public Library | — | 21 | C− |
| De Soto Township | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Vergennes 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.
- Digital loans not reported. Illinois libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Rick Warren Memorial Public Library District serves 2,797 people in and around Elk Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Elk Township.
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 Elk Township
Does Elk Township have a public library?
Yes. Rick Warren Memorial Public Library District, 114 South Fourth Street, serves 2,797 people in and around Elk Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rick Warren Memorial Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Elk Township’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 1.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Elk Township’s civic life grade?
D Elk Township is ahead of 6% 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 Elk 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.