Photo: Dual Freq · CC BY 2.5Illiopolis Township’s library logs 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Illiopolis/Niantic Public Library District serves 2,043 people in and around Illiopolis Township. Last year it lent 4,450 print books and media and logged 700 visits.
What Illiopolis Township’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Illiopolis/Niantic Public Library District sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Illiopolis/Niantic Public Library District offered 12 programs last year, 5.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
Illiopolis/Niantic Public Library District records 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, below 99% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 2.2 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 11% of the people the system 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; Illiopolis/Niantic Public Library District serves 2,043 people in and around Illiopolis Township, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Illiopolis Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Illiopolis Township is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns. Illiopolis Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Illiopolis Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($62K–$104K) 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 →
2 community nonprofits are registered in Illiopolis Township
1.4 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.8%
9.8% of Illiopolis 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 Illiopolis Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Illiopolis/Niantic Public Library District serves 2,043 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Illiopolis/Niantic Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
4,450 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 Illiopolis Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
12 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
Illiopolis/Niantic Public Library District, 401 Sixth and Mary Street, Illiopolis.
Good at every Illiopolis/Niantic Public Library District branch.
New in Illiopolis Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Illiopolis Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $123K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $77K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $123K 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 226 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illiopolis Township | Illiopolis/Niantic Public Library District | — | 29 | C+ |
| Mosquito Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Mount Auburn Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lanesville Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Niantic Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lake Fork 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.
- System-wide. Illiopolis/Niantic Public Library District serves 2,043 people in and around Illiopolis Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Illiopolis Township.
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 Illiopolis Township
Does Illiopolis Township have a public library?
Yes. Illiopolis/Niantic Public Library District, 401 Sixth and Mary Street, serves 2,043 people in and around Illiopolis Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Illiopolis/Niantic Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Illiopolis Township’s library?
It logged 0.3 visits and lent 2.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Illiopolis Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Illiopolis Township is ahead of 36% 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 Illiopolis 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.