Photo: Omnedon · Public domainGeorgetown’s library runs 4.1 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Georgetown Public Library serves Georgetown’s 3,143 residents. Last year it lent 6,432 print books and media and logged 8,820 visits.
What Georgetown’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Georgetown Public Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Georgetown Public Library offered 13 programs last year, 4.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 14% of the people Georgetown Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Federal money pays a real share
10% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 73% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
Georgetown Public Library spends $15 per resident, less than 91% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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 Georgetown’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Georgetown is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns, #606 of 754 in Illinois. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Georgetown Public Library spends $15 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size, and its 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($44K–$73K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Georgetown
2.3 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.9%
5.9% of Georgetown’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 Georgetown’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Georgetown Public Library serves 3,143 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
6,432 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 Georgetown’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
13 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
Georgetown Public Library, 102 West West Street, Georgetown.
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 $2.44 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Georgetown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $46K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $113K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $46K 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 431 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Georgetown Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 Georgetown
Does Georgetown have a public library?
Yes. Georgetown Public Library, 102 West West Street, serves Georgetown’s 3,143 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Georgetown Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Georgetown’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 2.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Georgetown’s civic life grade?
C− Georgetown is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns on civic life, #606 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 Georgetown.
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.