Lawrence Township’s library logs 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Lawrence Public Library District serves 15,281 people in and around Lawrence Township. Last year it lent 16K print books and media and logged 12K visits.
What Lawrence Township’s library is like
Lawrence Public Library District is used less than most libraries its size
Lawrence Public Library District records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $20 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Lawrence Public Library District offered 63 programs last year, 4.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 63 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 33 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; Lawrence Public Library District serves 15,281 people in and around Lawrence Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Lawrence Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lawrence Township is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #100 of 754 in Illinois. Lawrence Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Lawrence Township’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
44 community nonprofits are registered in Lawrence Township
7.2 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.0%
8.0% of Lawrence 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 Lawrence Township’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Lawrence Public Library District serves 15,281 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lawrence Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
16K 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 Lawrence Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
63 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
Lawrence Public Library District, 814 12th Street, Lawrenceville.
No late fees. Good at every Lawrence Public Library District branch.
New in Lawrence 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 Lawrence Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $309K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $293K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $309K 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 1,015 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawrence Township | Lawrence Public Library District fine-free | — | 41 | A− |
| Allison Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Bridgeport Township | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Bond Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Denison Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Bridgeport | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
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. Lawrence Public Library District serves 15,281 people in and around Lawrence Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Lawrence 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 Lawrence Township
Does Lawrence Township have a public library?
Yes. Lawrence Public Library District, 814 12th Street, serves 15,281 people in and around Lawrence Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lawrence Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Lawrence Township’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 1.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Lawrence Township’s civic life grade?
A− Lawrence Township is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #100 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 Lawrence 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.