Photo: rboed* · CC BY 2.0Galena’s library lends 7.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Galena Public Library District serves 4,518 people in and around Galena. Last year it lent 35K print books and media and logged 15K visits.
What Galena’s library is like
Few residents carry a card
Only 16% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
Galena Public Library District spends $90 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; Galena Public Library District serves 4,518 people in and around Galena, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Galena’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Galena is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #31 of 754 in Illinois. Galena is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Galena’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
22 community nonprofits are registered in Galena
7.6 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.9%
9.9% of Galena’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 Galena’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
35K 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 Galena’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Galena Public Library District serves 4,518 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, for the whole Galena Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
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
Galena Public Library District, 601 South Bench Street, Galena.
No late fees. Good at every Galena Public Library District branch.
New in Galena? 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 $1.57 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Galena cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $406K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $638K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $406K 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 734 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galena | Galena Public Library District fine-free | — | 50 | A |
| West Galena Township | Galena Public Library District fine-free | — | 50 | A |
| East Galena Township | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Rawlins 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. Galena Public Library District serves 4,518 people in and around Galena, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Galena.
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 Galena
Does Galena have a public library?
Yes. Galena Public Library District, 601 South Bench Street, serves 4,518 people in and around Galena (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Galena Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Galena’s library?
It logged 3.3 visits and lent 7.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Galena’s civic life grade?
A Galena is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on civic life, #31 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 Galena.
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.