South Side School · Photo: John W. Ross · Public domainGeneseo’s library runs 3.6 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Geneseo Public Library District serves 12,974 people in and around Geneseo. Last year it lent 49K print books and media and logged 45K visits.
What stands out about Geneseo Public Library District
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Geneseo’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Geneseo is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #2 of 754 in Illinois. Geneseo is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Geneseo near the top nationally; 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 →
70 community nonprofits are registered in Geneseo
10.5 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
18.1%
18.1% of Geneseo’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 Geneseo’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Geneseo Public Library District serves 12,974 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Geneseo Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
49K 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 Geneseo’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
47 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
Geneseo Public Library District, 805 North Chicago Street, Geneseo.
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 $1.22 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Geneseo cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $680K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $832K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $680K 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 5,760 cardholders ÷ 12.
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. Geneseo Public Library District serves 12,974 people in and around Geneseo, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Geneseo.
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 Geneseo
Does Geneseo have a public library?
Yes. Geneseo Public Library District, 805 North Chicago Street, serves 12,974 people in and around Geneseo (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Geneseo Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Geneseo’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 3.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Geneseo’s civic life grade?
A+ Geneseo is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #2 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 Geneseo.
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.