Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHennepin Township’s library lends 4.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Putnam County Public Library District serves 5,635 people in and around Hennepin Township. Last year it lent 26K print books and media and logged 18K visits.
What Hennepin Township’s library is like
Hennepin Township out-borrows every town next door
At 4.6 loans per resident, Hennepin Township leads the seven towns here. The closest is Senachwine Township, at 4.6. Libraries next door ↓
Putnam County Public Library District serves more than Hennepin Township
The library’s service area covers 5,635 people in and around Hennepin Township, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 211 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 0 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Hennepin Township invests in its library
Putnam County Public Library District spends $87 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (88%) comes from local taxes. 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 Hennepin Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hennepin Township is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns. Hennepin Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Hennepin Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Hennepin Township
3.5 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
19.4%
19.4% of Hennepin 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 Hennepin Township’s residents live; 2022.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hennepin Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $491K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $464K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $491K 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 1,160 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Putnam County Public Library District serves 5,635 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
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
26K 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 Hennepin Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 27K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Putnam County Public Library District, 214 North Fourth Street, Hennepin.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
Hennepin Township borrows the most per resident of the 7 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hennepin Township | Putnam County Public Library District fine-free | 4.6 | 45 | A− |
| Senachwine Township | Putnam (Condit) Branch Library fine-free | 4.6 | 11 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Hennepin | Putnam County Public Library District fine-free | 4.6 | 45 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Granville Township | Granville Branch Library fine-free | 4.6 | 48 | A+ |
| Magnolia Township | Mcnabb Branch Library fine-free | 4.6 | 11 | — too few inputs |
| Henry Township | Henry Public Library fine-free | 3.6 | 24 | — graded with its twin city |
| Leepertown Township | Leepertown Township Public Library fine-free | 0.6 | 15 | — 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 Hennepin Township
Does Hennepin Township have a public library?
Yes. Putnam County Public Library District, 214 North Fourth Street, serves 5,635 people in and around Hennepin Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Putnam County Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Hennepin Township’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 4.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hennepin Township’s civic life grade?
A− Hennepin Township is ahead of 82% 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 Hennepin 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.