Marion Township’s library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Julia Hull District Library serves 8,022 people in and around Marion Township. Last year it lent 23K print books and media and logged 12K visits.
What stands out about Julia Hull District Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Marion Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Marion Township is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns, #96 of 754 in Illinois. Marion Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Marion Township
3.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.1%
13.1% of Marion 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 Marion 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.
Julia Hull District Library serves 8,022 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Julia Hull District Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
23K 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 Marion 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
Julia Hull District Library, 100 Library Lane, Stillman Valley.
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 $1.36 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Marion Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $324K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $440K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $324K 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 1,699 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockford Township | Rockford Public Library | 3.0 | 60 | — graded with its twin city |
| Marion Township | Julia Hull District Library | — | 59 | A− |
| Byron Township | Byron Public Library District fine-free | — | 63 | B+ |
| Pine Rock Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Scott Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Rockvale Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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. Julia Hull District Library serves 8,022 people in and around Marion Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Marion 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 Marion Township
Does Marion Township have a public library?
Yes. Julia Hull District Library, 100 Library Lane, serves 8,022 people in and around Marion Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Julia Hull District Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Marion Township’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 2.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Marion Township’s civic life grade?
A− Marion Township is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns on civic life, #96 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 Marion 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.