Brown Shoe Company Factory · Photo: Adt1982 · CC BY-SA 3.0Litchfield’s library lends 4.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Litchfield Public Library District serves 8,627 people in and around Litchfield. Last year it lent 41K print books and media and logged 26K visits.
Litchfield’s library, in brief
Most programs are for young children
78% of the 108 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 42 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Litchfield Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1999. Today’s library there has 11,900 square feet. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% 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; Litchfield Public Library District serves 8,627 people in and around Litchfield, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Litchfield’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Litchfield is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns, #395 of 754 in Illinois. Litchfield is graded on two of the three inputs. Litchfield’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($40K–$67K) 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 →
34 community nonprofits are registered in Litchfield
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 (11 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.
5.6%
5.6% of Litchfield’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 Litchfield’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1999
Litchfield Public Library District, 400 North State Street, Litchfield.
Good at every Litchfield Public Library District branch.
New in Litchfield? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Litchfield Public Library
Litchfield Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Feb 12, 1999. It is significant for its education at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival. It was listed as part of Illinois Carnegie Libraries MPS.
The Litchfield Public Library is a Carnegie library located at 400 N. State St. in Litchfield, Illinois. The library was built in 1904-05 through a $10,000 donation from the Carnegie Foundation.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Litchfield Public Library District serves 8,627 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Litchfield Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
41K 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 Litchfield’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.22 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Litchfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $355K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $788K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $355K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 1,523 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Litchfield | Litchfield Public Library District | — | 41 | C+ |
| North Litchfield Township | Litchfield Public Library District | — | 41 | C |
| South Litchfield Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Butler Grove Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Zanesville 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.
- System-wide. Litchfield Public Library District serves 8,627 people in and around Litchfield, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Litchfield.
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 Litchfield
Does Litchfield have a public library?
Yes. Litchfield Public Library District, 400 North State Street, serves 8,627 people in and around Litchfield (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Litchfield Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Litchfield’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 4.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Litchfield’s civic life grade?
C+ Litchfield is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on civic life, #395 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 Litchfield.
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.