Photo: IvoShandor · CC BY-SA 3.0Marseilles’ library runs 19 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Marseilles Public Library serves Marseilles’s 4,845 residents. Last year it lent 14K books, movies and e-books and drew 254 people to its programs.
What Marseilles’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Marseilles Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
77% of the 93 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 34 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Illinois pays a big share
21% of the budget comes from the state, and 74% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Marseilles Public Library holds 26,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. What people borrow ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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 Marseilles’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Marseilles is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #71 of 754 in Illinois. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Marseilles is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Marseilles’ count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
The survey’s stand-in for Marseilles’ 2024 visits is its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Marseilles
6.1 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.2%
9.2% of Marseilles’ 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 Marseilles’ residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Marseilles Public Library serves 4,845 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. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
14K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 26K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
About 1 kids’ program a week
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Marseilles last year.
Find it
Marseilles Public Library, 155 East Bluff Street, Marseilles.
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 $1.34 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Marseilles cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $168K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $226K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $168K 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 1,963 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marseilles | Marseilles Public Library | 2.9 | 37 | A |
| Rutland Township | Marseilles Public Library | 2.9 | 37 | B |
| Manlius Township | Seneca Public Library District | — | 59 | A− |
| Brookfield Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Fall River 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.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Marseilles Public Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate is its own, so we leave it out and never rank it.
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 Marseilles
Does Marseilles have a public library?
Yes. Marseilles Public Library, 155 East Bluff Street, serves Marseilles’ 4,845 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Marseilles Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Marseilles’ library?
It lent 2.9 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 93 programs that drew 254 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Marseilles’ civic life grade?
A Marseilles is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on civic life, #71 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 Marseilles.
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.