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Downtown Henry, IllinoisPhoto: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 3.0
Henry Public Library

Henry Township’s library logs 2.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size

Henry Public Library serves 2,320 people in and around Henry Township. Last year it lent 8,406 print books and media and logged 5,810 visits.

702 Front Street, Henry 61537 · about 24 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
8,406
3.6 per resident
Visits a year
5,810
2.5 per resident · Below typical (3.5)
Programs & events
82
about 2 a week · 384 attended
Cardholders
14%
326 cards
Open
24 hrs
a week
In brief

What Henry Township’s library is like

A small-town library

Henry Public Library serves 2,320 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 24 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 ↓

Few residents carry a card

Only 14% of the people Henry Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓

Most programs are for young children

71% of the 82 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 51 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓

A big collection for the borrowing it gets

Henry Public Library holds 26,000 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Henry Township’s civic life grade

Henry Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Henry Township’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.5 visits · typical 3.5Lower than 66%
Borrowing per resident 3.6 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 53%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.7Lower than 83%
Programs offered 35.3 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Lower than 66%
Cardholders 14% of residents · typical 54%Bottom 10%
Spending $58 per resident · typical $54Higher than 55%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Henry Public Library serves 2,320 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

5,810
visits
2.5 per resident
8,406
loans, print + digital
3.6 per resident
82
programs & events
384 attended
326
library cards
14% of people served
Every open hour7items borrowed
Every week7people at a program
Every day6Wi-Fi sessions
2 staff (full-time equivalent)5 public computers26K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

8,406 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 Henry Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.

How hard the shelves work
0.3×

Each of the 26K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.

Kids & programs

About 1 kids’ program a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Henry Township →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–551
Ages 6–117
Teens0
Adults24
All ages0
Little ones
1

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

384
people at programs
82
programs
The building

Find it

Henry Public Library, 702 Front Street, Henry.

24
hours open a week
5,460
square feet
26K
books & media

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.14 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Henry Township cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
2
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
1
Your card saves you about
$444
a year at retail prices · $37 a month

Who pays for it
$58 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $135K.

Local taxes 91%State 2%Gifts & other 7%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $154K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $135K 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 326 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Henry Township ranks 5th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
Lacon TownshipLacon Public Library District5.522C+
Magnolia TownshipMcnabb Branch Library fine-free4.611— too few inputs
Senachwine TownshipPutnam (Condit) Branch Library fine-free4.611— under 1,000 residents
Hennepin TownshipPutnam County Public Library District fine-free4.645A−
Henry TownshipHenry Public Library fine-free3.624— graded with its twin city
HenryHenry Public Library fine-free3.624A−
Hopewell TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
Whitefield TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
Steuben TownshipNone of its own——B

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).

How to read these numbers

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 Henry Township

Does Henry Township have a public library?

Yes. Henry Public Library, 702 Front Street, serves 2,320 people in and around Henry Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Henry Public Library fine-free?

Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Henry Township’s library?

It logged 2.5 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 Henry Township’s civic life grade?

Henry Township 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 Henry Township.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.