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Mascoutah Public Library

Mascoutah Township’s library lends 5.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size

Mascoutah Public Library serves 8,754 people in and around Mascoutah Township. Last year it lent 46K print books and media and logged 30K visits.

3 West Church Street, Mascoutah 62258 · about 52 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
46K
5.2 per resident
Visits a year
30K
3.4 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
216
about 4 a week · 4,105 attended
Cardholders
16%
1,359 cards
Open
52 hrs
a week
In brief

What Mascoutah Township’s library is like

Few residents carry a card

Only 16% of the people Mascoutah Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓

Mascoutah Township out-borrows every town next door

At 5.2 loans per resident, Mascoutah Township leads the four towns here. The closest is Mascoutah, at 5.2. Libraries next door ↓

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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Mascoutah Township’s civic life grade

Mascoutah Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Mascoutah Township’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 3.4 visits · typical 3Higher than 56%
Borrowing per resident 5.2 print items · typical 3.8Higher than 66%
Program attendance 0.5 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 52%
Programs offered 24.7 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 63%
Cardholders 16% of residents · typical 42%Bottom 10%
Spending $57 per resident · typical $43Higher than 68%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Mascoutah Public Library serves 8,754 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

30K
visits
3.4 per resident
46K
loans, print + digital
5.2 per resident
216
programs & events
4,105 attended
1,359
library cards
16% of people served
Every open hour17items borrowed
Every week79people at a program
Every day24Wi-Fi sessions
6 staff (full-time equivalent)9 public computers38K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

46K 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 Mascoutah Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.

How hard the shelves work
1.2×

Each of the 38K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.

Kids & programs

About 2 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Mascoutah Township →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–578
Ages 6–1133
Teens37
Adults28
All ages40
Little ones
1.5

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

4,105
people at programs
216
programs
The building

Find it

Mascoutah Public Library, 3 West Church Street, Mascoutah.

52
hours open a week
12,460
square feet
38K
books & media

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.69 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mascoutah Township cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
3
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
1
Your card saves you about
$648
a year at retail prices · $54 a month

Who pays for it
$57 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $501K.

Local taxes 88%State 5%Federal 2%Gifts & other 5%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $844K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $501K 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 1,359 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Mascoutah Township borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
Mascoutah TownshipMascoutah Public Library fine-free5.252— graded with its twin city
MascoutahMascoutah Public Library fine-free5.252B+
Lebanon TownshipLebanon Public Library District3.737— graded with its twin city
Looking Glass TownshipNew Baden Public Library fine-free3.640B−
Shiloh Valley TownshipNone of its own——B
Scott AFBNone of its own——— unincorporated
Engelmann TownshipNone 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).

How to read these numbers

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.

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 Mascoutah Township

Does Mascoutah Township have a public library?

Yes. Mascoutah Public Library, 3 West Church Street, serves 8,754 people in and around Mascoutah Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Mascoutah Public Library fine-free?

Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Mascoutah Township’s library?

It logged 3.4 visits and lent 5.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Mascoutah Township’s civic life grade?

Mascoutah Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Mascoutah Township.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.