Looking Glass Township’s library runs 11 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
New Baden Public Library serves 3,428 people in and around Looking Glass Township. Last year it lent 12K print books and media and logged 10K visits.
What Looking Glass Township’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, New Baden Public Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Looking Glass Township’s library lends 3.6 items per resident. Each of the three neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Sugar Creek Township at 5.9. Libraries next door ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 16% of the people New Baden Public Library 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.
What’s behind Looking Glass Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Looking Glass Township is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #349 of 754 in Illinois. Looking Glass Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Looking Glass Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls 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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Looking Glass Township
2.7 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.1%
9.1% of Looking Glass 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 Looking Glass Township’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
New Baden Public Library serves 3,428 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
12K 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 Looking Glass Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
37 programs a year
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.
Find it
New Baden Public Library, 210 North First Street, New Baden.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Looking Glass Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $98K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $216K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $98K 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 539 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Looking Glass Township ranks 4th of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sugar Creek Township | Trenton Public Library | 5.9 | 36 | B |
| Mascoutah Township | Mascoutah Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 52 | — graded with its twin city |
| Germantown Township | Germantown Public Library District fine-free | 4.5 | 28 | A− |
| Looking Glass Township | New Baden Public Library fine-free | 3.6 | 40 | B− |
| Venedy Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Engelmann 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.
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 Looking Glass Township
Does Looking Glass Township have a public library?
Yes. New Baden Public Library, 210 North First Street, serves 3,428 people in and around Looking Glass Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New Baden Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Looking Glass Township’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 3.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Looking Glass Township’s civic life grade?
B− Looking Glass Township is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on civic life, #349 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 Looking Glass 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.