Marissa Academy · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMarissa’s library runs 89 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Marissa Area Public Library District serves 3,041 people in and around Marissa. Last year it lent 6,859 print books and media and logged 15K visits.
The short version on Marissa’s library
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 72% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 27%. The building also logs about 16 Wi-Fi sessions a day. Program attendance beats 98% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
Programs draw a crowd
8,926 people came to the system’s 272 programs last year: 2.9 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
54% of the 272 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 84 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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; Marissa Area Public Library District serves 3,041 people in and around Marissa, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Marissa’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Marissa is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns. Marissa 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Marissa
4.9 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.9%
9.9% of Marissa’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 Marissa’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Marissa Area Public Library District serves 3,041 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Marissa Area Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
6,859 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 Marissa’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Find it
Marissa Area Public Library District, 212 North Main Street, Marissa.
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 $1.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Marissa cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $174K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $224K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $174K 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 400 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marissa | Marissa Area Public Library District | — | 35 | A− |
| Marissa Township | Marissa Area Public Library District | — | 35 | B |
| Lenzburg 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. Marissa Area Public Library District serves 3,041 people in and around Marissa, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Marissa.
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 Marissa
Does Marissa have a public library?
Yes. Marissa Area Public Library District, 212 North Main Street, serves 3,041 people in and around Marissa (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Marissa Area Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Marissa’s library?
It logged 4.8 visits and lent 2.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Marissa’s civic life grade?
A− Marissa is ahead of 84% 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 Marissa.
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.