Photo: Nyttend · Public domainJonesboro’s library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Jonesboro Public Library serves Jonesboro’s 1,711 residents. Last year it lent 1,003 print books and media and logged 1,274 visits.
The short version on Jonesboro’s library
Jonesboro Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Jonesboro Public Library records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $11 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Jonesboro Public Library offered 8 programs last year, 4.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Jonesboro Public Library serves 1,711 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Jonesboro Public Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Stinson Memorial Public Library District in Anna, next door, is open about 43 hours a week. The building ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
33% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 54%. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Jonesboro’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Jonesboro is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns. Jonesboro’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Jonesboro Public Library spends $11 per resident, against a typical $54 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($44K–$73K) 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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Jonesboro
4.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.1%
6.1% of Jonesboro’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 Jonesboro’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Jonesboro Public Library serves 1,711 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Jonesboro Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,003 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 Jonesboro’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 5,836 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
8 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
Jonesboro Public Library, 412 South Main Street, Jonesboro.
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 $1.01 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Jonesboro cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $19K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $19K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $19K 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 55 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonesboro | Jonesboro Public Library | 0.6 | 20 | C− |
| Anna | Stinson Memorial Public Library District | — | 43 | 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 Jonesboro
Does Jonesboro have a public library?
Yes. Jonesboro Public Library, 412 South Main Street, serves Jonesboro’s 1,711 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jonesboro Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Jonesboro’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 0.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Jonesboro’s civic life grade?
C− Jonesboro is ahead of 24% 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 Jonesboro.
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.