Photo: Ed Brumley · CC BY-SA 3.0Lawrenceville’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 Lawrenceville. Last year it lent 16K print books and media and logged 12K visits.
The short version on Lawrenceville’s library
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 Lawrenceville, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Lawrenceville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lawrenceville is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #67 of 754 in Illinois. Lawrenceville is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Lawrenceville’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 Lawrenceville
11.2 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 Lawrenceville’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 Lawrenceville’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 Lawrenceville’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 Lawrenceville? 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 Lawrenceville 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.
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 Lawrenceville, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Lawrenceville.
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 Lawrenceville
Does Lawrenceville have a public library?
Yes. Lawrence Public Library District, 814 12th Street, serves 15,281 people in and around Lawrenceville (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 Lawrenceville’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 Lawrenceville’s civic life grade?
A Lawrenceville is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on civic life, #67 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 Lawrenceville.
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.