Goode Township’s library lends 1.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Sesser Public Library serves 1,888 people in and around Goode Township. Last year it lent 3,091 print books and media and logged 3,167 visits.
Goode Township’s library, in brief
Sesser Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Sesser Public Library records 1.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $25 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Sesser Public Library serves 1,888 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 37 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Federal money pays a real share
12% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 67% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Goode Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Goode Township is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns, #600 of 754 in Illinois. Goode Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Sesser Public Library spends $25 per resident, against a typical $54 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($45K–$74K) 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Goode Township
2.4 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.7%
6.7% of Goode 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 Goode Township’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Sesser Public Library serves 1,888 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
3,091 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 Goode Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 8,905 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
48 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
Sesser Public Library, 303 West Franklin Street, Sesser.
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 $1.35 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Goode Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $47K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $63K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $47K 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 457 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Goode Township borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goode Township | Sesser Public Library | 1.6 | 37 | C− |
| Sesser | Sesser Public Library | 1.6 | 37 | C− |
| Tyrone Township | Christopher Public Library | 0.4 | 29 | C |
| Barren Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Bald Hill 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.
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 Goode Township
Does Goode Township have a public library?
Yes. Sesser Public Library, 303 West Franklin Street, serves 1,888 people in and around Goode Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sesser Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Goode Township’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 1.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Goode Township’s civic life grade?
C− Goode Township is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns on civic life, #600 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 Goode 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.