Harter Township’s library logs 6.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Flora Public Library serves 4,803 people in and around Harter Township. Last year it lent 20K print books and media and logged 32K visits.
Harter Township’s library, in brief
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people Flora Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Flora Public Library holds 45,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
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 Harter Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Harter Township is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns, #238 of 754 in Illinois. Harter Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Harter Township’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 →
27 community nonprofits are registered in Harter Township
4.5 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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.7%
7.7% of Harter 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 Harter Township’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Flora Public Library serves 4,803 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Books and media off the shelf
20K 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 Harter Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 45K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
46 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
Flora Public Library, 216 North Main Street, Flora.
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 $1.64 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Harter Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $230K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $377K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $230K 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 883 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harter Township | Flora Public Library fine-free | 4.2 | 43 | B |
| Songer Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Louisville Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Stanford Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Keith Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Xenia 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 Harter Township
Does Harter Township have a public library?
Yes. Flora Public Library, 216 North Main Street, serves 4,803 people in and around Harter Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Flora Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Harter Township’s library?
It logged 6.6 visits and lent 4.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Harter Township’s civic life grade?
B Harter Township is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on civic life, #238 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 Harter 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.