Photo: David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA · CC BY 2.0Erie’s library runs 4.4 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Erie Public Library District serves 3,154 people in and around Erie. Last year it lent 12K print books and media and logged 6,864 visits.
What Erie’s library is like
Few programs for a library this size
Erie Public Library District offered 14 programs last year, 4.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Erie Public Library District sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
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; Erie Public Library District serves 3,154 people in and around Erie, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Erie’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Erie is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns. Erie is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Erie’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 Erie
1.9 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.0%
12.0% of Erie’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 Erie’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Erie Public Library District serves 3,154 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Erie Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
12K 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 Erie’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
14 programs a year
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.
Find it
Erie Public Library District, 802 Eighth Avenue, Erie.
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 $1.20 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Erie cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $177K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $213K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $177K 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 628 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erie | Erie Public Library District | — | 40 | B− |
| Erie Township | Erie Public Library District | — | 40 | B− |
| Fenton 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. Erie Public Library District serves 3,154 people in and around Erie, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Erie.
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 Erie
Does Erie have a public library?
Yes. Erie Public Library District, 802 Eighth Avenue, serves 3,154 people in and around Erie (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Erie Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Erie’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 3.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Erie’s civic life grade?
B− Erie is ahead of 51% 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 Erie.
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.