Photo: Jaylon Vermost · CC BY 4.0Kewanee Township’s library runs 19 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Kewanee Public Library District serves 13,746 people in and around Kewanee Township. Last year it lent 56K print books and media and logged 44K visits.
What Kewanee Township’s library is like
The library is a National Register landmark
Kewanee Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2006. Today’s library there has 20,640 square feet. The building ↓
Kewanee Public Library District serves more than Kewanee Township
The library’s service area covers 13,746 people in and around Kewanee Township, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 268 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 48 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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 Kewanee Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Kewanee Township is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #174 of 754 in Illinois. Kewanee Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Kewanee 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 →
35 community nonprofits are registered in Kewanee Township
3.6 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.2%
10.2% of Kewanee 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 Kewanee Township’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 2006
Kewanee Public Library District, 102 South Tremont Street, Kewanee.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Kewanee Public Library
Kewanee Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 31, 2006. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival. It was listed as part of Illinois Carnegie Libraries MPS.
The Kewanee Public Library is a Carnegie library located at 102 South Tremont Street in Kewanee, Illinois. The library was built in 1907–08 to house the city's public library, which was formed in 1875 and had previously occupied a room in the town hall.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Kewanee Public Library District serves 13,746 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
56K 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 Kewanee Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 72K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 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
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.26 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kewanee Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $800K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $800K 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 3,790 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Kewanee Township ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annawan Township | Annawan-Alba Township Library | 18.0 | 29 | B− |
| Neponset Township | Neponset Public Library | 5.0 | 20 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Kewanee Township | Kewanee Public Library District fine-free | 4.1 | 57 | B+ |
| Wethersfield Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Burns Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Elmira 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.
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 Kewanee Township
Does Kewanee Township have a public library?
Yes. Kewanee Public Library District, 102 South Tremont Street, serves 13,746 people in and around Kewanee Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Kewanee Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Kewanee Township’s library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 4.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Kewanee Township’s civic life grade?
B+ Kewanee Township is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on civic life, #174 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 Kewanee 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. 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.