Photo: NatFee · CC BY-SA 4.0Manito Township’s library logs 2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Forman Valley Public Library District serves 5,725 people in and around Manito Township. Last year it lent 15K print books and media and logged 12K visits.
What’s behind Manito Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Manito Township is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns. Manito Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Manito Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($52K–$86K) 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Manito Township
1.9 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 Manito 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 Manito Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Forman Valley Public Library District serves 5,725 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Forman Valley Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
15K 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 Manito Township’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.
Find it
Forman Valley Public Library District, 404 1/2 South Harrison Street, Manito.
Good at every Forman Valley Public Library District branch.
New in Manito Township? The Handbook →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 $1.52 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Manito Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $195K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $297K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $195K 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 2,797 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manito Township | Forman Valley Public Library District | — | 44 | C+ |
| Forest City Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Spring Lake Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Quiver Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Malone Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sand Prairie Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Pennsylvania 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. Forman Valley Public Library District serves 5,725 people in and around Manito Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Manito 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 Manito Township
Does Manito Township have a public library?
Yes. Forman Valley Public Library District, 404 1/2 South Harrison Street, serves 5,725 people in and around Manito Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Forman Valley Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Manito Township’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 2.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Manito Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Manito Township is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Manito 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.