Photo: User:Dailynetworks · Public domainJacksonville’s library runs 19 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Jacksonville Public Library serves Jacksonville’s 17,616 residents. Last year it lent 75K print books and media and logged 57K visits.
The short version on Jacksonville’s library
The library is a National Register landmark
Jacksonville Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2000. Today’s library there has 20,000 square feet. The building ↓
Open about 65 hours a week
Jacksonville Public Library is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out. The building ↓
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 Jacksonville’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Jacksonville is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #79 of 754 in Illinois. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
115 community nonprofits are registered in Jacksonville
6.4 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 (25 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
14.7%
14.7% of Jacksonville’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 Jacksonville’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 2000
Jacksonville Public Library, 201 West College Avenue, Jacksonville.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Jacksonville Public Library
Jacksonville Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Aug 24, 2000. It is significant for its education at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival. It was listed as part of Illinois Carnegie Libraries MPS.
The Jacksonville Public Library is a Carnegie library located at 201 West College Avenue in Jacksonville, Illinois. The library was built in 1902 to house the city's library program, which began in 1870. Chicago architects Patton & Miller designed the Classical Revival building. The building still houses the city's public library and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Jacksonville Public Library serves 17,616 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
75K 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 Jacksonville’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 100K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.77 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Jacksonville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $757K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $757K 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 4,297 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville | Jacksonville Public Library | 4.3 | 65 | A |
| South Jacksonville | None 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).
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 Jacksonville
Does Jacksonville have a public library?
Yes. Jacksonville Public Library, 201 West College Avenue, serves Jacksonville’s 17,616 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jacksonville Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Jacksonville’s library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 4.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Jacksonville’s civic life grade?
A Jacksonville is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on civic life, #79 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 Jacksonville.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.