Friends Creek Township’s library lends 6.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Argenta-Oreana Public Library District serves 3,861 people in and around Friends Creek Township. Last year it lent 24K print books and media and logged 11K visits.
The short version on Friends Creek Township’s library
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
42% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 55%. What your card is worth ↓
Friends Creek Township out-borrows every town next door
At 6.3 loans per resident, Friends Creek Township leads the five towns here. The closest is Whitmore Township, at 6.3. Libraries next door ↓
Argenta-Oreana Public Library District serves more than Friends Creek Township
The library’s service area covers 3,861 people in and around Friends Creek Township, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Friends Creek Township invests in its library
Argenta-Oreana Public Library District spends $91 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 Friends Creek Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Friends Creek Township is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns. Friends Creek Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Friends Creek Township’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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Friends Creek Township
3.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.6%
8.6% of Friends Creek 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 Friends Creek Township’s residents live; 2022.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.27 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Friends Creek Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $352K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $448K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $352K 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 742 cardholders ÷ 12.
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.
Argenta-Oreana Public Library District serves 3,861 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. 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 Friends Creek Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 25K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
81 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.
Find it
Argenta Branch Library, 100 East Water Street, Argenta.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
Friends Creek Township borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friends Creek Township | Argenta Branch Library | 6.3 | 39 | B− |
| Whitmore Township | Argenta-Oreana Public Library District | 6.3 | 39 | C |
| Nixon Township | Weldon Public Library District fine-free | 4.7 | 30 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Goose Creek Township | Goose Creek Township Carnegie Library | 2.1 | 27 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Willow Branch Township | Willow Branch Township Library | 1.7 | 25 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Maroa Township | Maroa Public Library District fine-free | — | 36 | — graded with its twin city |
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 Friends Creek Township
Does Friends Creek Township have a public library?
Yes. Argenta-Oreana Public Library District, 100 East Water Street, serves 3,861 people in and around Friends Creek Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Argenta-Oreana Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Friends Creek Township’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 6.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Friends Creek Township’s civic life grade?
B− Friends Creek Township is ahead of 50% 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 Friends Creek 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.