Photo: Augiejv · CC BY-SA 3.0Gilman’s library runs 53 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Gilman-Danforth District Library serves 2,932 people in and around Gilman. Last year it lent 13K books, movies and e-books and logged 6,732 visits.
What stands out about Gilman-Danforth District Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Gilman’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Gilman is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns. Gilman is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Gilman’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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Gilman
11.2 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.
8.6%
8.6% of Gilman’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 Gilman’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Gilman-Danforth District Library serves 2,932 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, for the whole Gilman-Danforth District Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
13K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
155 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
Gilman-Danforth District Library, 715 North Maple Street, Gilman.
No late fees. Good at every Gilman-Danforth District Library branch.
New in Gilman? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gilman cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $205K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $202K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $205K 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 804 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Gilman-Danforth District Library serves 2,932 people in and around Gilman, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Gilman.
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 Gilman
Does Gilman have a public library?
Yes. Gilman-Danforth District Library, 715 North Maple Street, serves 2,932 people in and around Gilman (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Gilman-Danforth District Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Gilman’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 4.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Gilman’s civic life grade?
A Gilman is ahead of 91% 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 Gilman.
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.