Photo: IvoShandor · CC BY-SA 3.0Franklin Grove’s library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Franklin Grove Public Library serves Franklin Grove’s 896 residents. Last year it lent 9,814 books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
The short version on Franklin Grove’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
79% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 10%. What your card is worth ↓
Franklin Grove uses its library more than almost any town its size
Franklin Grove Public Library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 10 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Franklin Grove invests in its library
Franklin Grove Public Library spends $252 per resident a year, about five times the typical $54 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 41% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 19 items per child in Franklin Grove last year. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Franklin Grove Public Library holds 21,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Franklin Grove’s civic life grade
Franklin Grove isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Franklin Grove Public Library serves 896 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
9,814 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 21K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
650 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
92 programs a year
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Franklin Grove last year.
Find it
Franklin Grove Public Library, 112 South Elm Street, Franklin Grove.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Franklin Grove cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $226K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $158K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $226K 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 294 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Franklin Grove
Does Franklin Grove have a public library?
Yes. Franklin Grove Public Library, 112 South Elm Street, serves Franklin Grove’s 896 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Franklin Grove Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Franklin Grove’s library?
It logged 11.9 visits and lent 11.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Franklin Grove’s civic life grade?
Franklin Grove isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Franklin Grove.
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.