Photo: Katherine Johnson from Springfield, IL · CC BY 2.0Lincoln’s library logs 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Lincoln Public Library District serves Lincoln’s 13,310 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 49K books, movies and e-books and logged 7,386 visits.
Lincoln’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Lincoln Public Library District sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Lincoln Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. Today’s library there has 17,000 square feet. The buildings ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 10% of the people Lincoln Public Library District serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
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 Lincoln’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Lincoln is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns, #531 of 754 in Illinois. Lincoln’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$72K) 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 →
67 community nonprofits are registered in Lincoln
5.0 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 (15 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.5%
6.5% of Lincoln’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 Lincoln’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1980
Lincoln Public Library District, 725 Pekin Street, Lincoln.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Lincoln Public Library
Lincoln Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Sep 12, 1980. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Neo-Classical Revival.
The Lincoln Public Library is a Carnegie library located at 725 Pekin St. in Lincoln, Illinois. Built in 1902, the library was funded by a $25,000 grant from the Carnegie Foundation. Chicago architect W. A. Otis designed the library in the Classical Revival style. The building's design features an entrance portico, a raised first floor, a Tuscan cornice, stone decorations, and a red tile roof.
More about the building →Other libraries in Lincoln
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Lincoln Public Library District serves 13,310 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
49K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 55K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
10,154 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Lincoln last year.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lincoln cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $922K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $754K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $922K 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 1,330 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln | Lincoln Public Library District fine-free | 3.7 | 48 | C |
| West Lincoln Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Broadwell Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Lincoln Public Library District counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Lincoln
Does Lincoln have a public library?
Yes. Lincoln Public Library District, 725 Pekin Street, serves Lincoln’s 13,310 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lincoln Public Library District fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Lincoln’s library?
It logged 0.6 visits and lent 3.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Lincoln’s civic life grade?
C Lincoln is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns on civic life, #531 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 Lincoln.
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.