George Draser Jr. House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMascoutah’s library lends 5.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Mascoutah Public Library serves Mascoutah’s 8,754 residents. Last year it lent 46K print books and media and logged 30K visits.
What stands out about Mascoutah’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Mascoutah’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Mascoutah is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #183 of 754 in Illinois. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
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 →
39 community nonprofits are registered in Mascoutah
4.4 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 (7 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.
10.0%
10.0% of Mascoutah’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 Mascoutah’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Mascoutah Public Library serves 8,754 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 38K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
About 2 kids’ programs 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.
Find it
Mascoutah Public Library, 3 West Church Street, Mascoutah.
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 $1.69 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mascoutah cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $501K.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mascoutah | Mascoutah Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 52 | B+ |
| Mascoutah Township | Mascoutah Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 52 | — graded with its twin city |
| Shiloh Valley Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Scott AFB | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Engelmann 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Mascoutah Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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
Does Mascoutah have a public library?
Yes. Mascoutah Public Library, 3 West Church Street, serves Mascoutah’s 8,754 residents (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’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’s civic life grade?
B+ Mascoutah is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on civic life, #183 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 Mascoutah.
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.