Photo: Jaylon Vermost · CC BY 4.0Kewanee’s library runs 19 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Kewanee Public Library District serves Kewanee’s 13,746 residents. Last year it lent 56K print books and media and logged 44K visits.
What Kewanee’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 ↓
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’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Kewanee is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #218 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 →
48 community nonprofits are registered in Kewanee
4.0 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.2%
10.2% of Kewanee’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’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’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 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.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Kewanee Public Library District counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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
Does Kewanee have a public library?
Yes. Kewanee Public Library District, 102 South Tremont Street, serves Kewanee’s 13,746 residents (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’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’s civic life grade?
B+ Kewanee is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on civic life, #218 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.
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.