Photo: Tedder · CC BY 4.0Maroa’s library runs 160 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Maroa Public Library District serves 2,156 people in and around Maroa. Last year it lent 6,153 print books and media and logged 7,937 visits.
The short version on Maroa’s library
Few residents carry a card
Only 17% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
76% of the 345 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 44 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Maroa Public Library District spends $132 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (94%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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; Maroa Public Library District serves 2,156 people in and around Maroa, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Maroa’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Maroa is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. Maroa 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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Maroa
4.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.1%
8.1% of Maroa’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 Maroa’s residents live; 2022.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Maroa cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $284K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $148K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $284K 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 375 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Maroa Public Library District serves 2,156 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Maroa Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
6,153 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 Maroa’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
345 programs a year
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
Maroa Public Library District, 305 East Garfield Street, Maroa.
No late fees. Good at every Maroa Public Library District branch.
New in Maroa? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
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. Maroa Public Library District serves 2,156 people in and around Maroa, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Maroa.
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 Maroa
Does Maroa have a public library?
Yes. Maroa Public Library District, 305 East Garfield Street, serves 2,156 people in and around Maroa (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Maroa Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Maroa’s library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 2.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Maroa’s civic life grade?
B Maroa is ahead of 60% 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 Maroa.
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.