Photo: SD Dirk · CC BY 2.0Hanover’s library runs 2.5 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Hanover Township Library serves 1,203 people in and around Hanover. Last year it lent 4,272 print books and media and logged 1,789 visits.
The short version on Hanover’s library
Few programs for a library this size
Hanover Township Library offered 3 programs last year, 2.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Hanover Township Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Hanover Township Library serves 1,203 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
Open only about 19 hours a week
Hanover Township Library keeps short hours: about 19 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people Hanover Township Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
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 Hanover’s civic life grade
Hanover isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Hanover Township Library serves 1,203 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
4,272 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 Hanover’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 8,801 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
3 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Hanover Township Library, 204 Jefferson Street, Hanover.
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 $1.23 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hanover cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $60K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $74K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $60K 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 153 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.
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 Hanover
Does Hanover have a public library?
Yes. Hanover Township Library, 204 Jefferson Street, serves 1,203 people in and around Hanover (the survey’s count) and is open about 19 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hanover Township Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Hanover’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 3.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Hanover’s civic life grade?
Hanover isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Hanover.
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.