Freeburg’s library runs 19 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Freeburg Area Library District serves Freeburg’s 6,061 residents. Last year it lent 24K print books and media and logged 17K visits.
The short version on Freeburg’s library
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people Freeburg Area Library District serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Freeburg Area Library District holds 46,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years 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.
What’s behind Freeburg’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Freeburg is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #41 of 754 in Illinois. Freeburg 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Freeburg
5.8 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.
10.8%
10.8% of Freeburg’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 Freeburg’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.
Freeburg Area Library District serves 6,061 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
24K 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 Freeburg’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 46K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Find it
Freeburg Area Library District, 407 South Belleville Street, Freeburg.
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 $1.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Freeburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $322K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $428K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $322K 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 1,118 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Freeburg ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smithton Township | Smithton Public Library District | 4.3 | 61 | — graded with its twin city |
| Smithton | Smithton Public Library District | 4.3 | 61 | A− |
| Freeburg | Freeburg Area Library District | 4.0 | 37 | A |
| Freeburg Township | Freeburg Area Library District | 4.0 | 37 | — graded with its twin city |
| Belleville | Belleville Public Library fine-free | 2.1 | 60 | C |
| Shiloh Valley Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
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 Freeburg
Does Freeburg have a public library?
Yes. Freeburg Area Library District, 407 South Belleville Street, serves Freeburg’s 6,061 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Freeburg Area Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Freeburg’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 4.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Freeburg’s civic life grade?
A Freeburg is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life, #41 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 Freeburg.
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.