Mercer County Fairgrounds · Photo: Boscophotos · CC BY-SA 3.0Mercer Township’s library runs 18 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Edwards River Public Library District serves 4,603 people in and around Mercer Township. Last year it lent 20K print books and media and logged 11K visits.
Mercer Township’s library, in brief
Illinois pays a big share
31% of the budget comes from the state, and 65% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 81 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.2 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Edwards River Public Library District serves 4,603 people in and around Mercer Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Mercer Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Mercer Township is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns, #153 of 754 in Illinois. Mercer Township’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
32 community nonprofits are registered in Mercer Township
8.2 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.5%
9.5% of Mercer Township’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 Mercer Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Edwards River Public Library District serves 4,603 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Edwards River Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
20K 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 Mercer Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Find it
Edwards River Public Library District, 412 East Main Street, Aledo.
No late fees. Good at every Edwards River Public Library District branch.
New in Mercer Township? The Handbook →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 $2.20 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mercer Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $167K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $366K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $167K 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 980 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greene Township | Viola Public Library District fine-free | 8.6 | 38 | B |
| Mercer Township | Edwards River Public Library District fine-free | — | 50 | B+ |
| Ohio Grove Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Millersburg Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Perryton Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Abington 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. Edwards River Public Library District 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.
- System-wide. Edwards River Public Library District serves 4,603 people in and around Mercer Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Mercer Township.
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 Mercer Township
Does Mercer Township have a public library?
Yes. Edwards River Public Library District, 412 East Main Street, serves 4,603 people in and around Mercer Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Edwards River Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Mercer Township’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 4.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Mercer Township’s civic life grade?
B+ Mercer Township is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on civic life, #153 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 Mercer Township.
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.