Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMetropolis’ library lends 2.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Metropolis Public Library serves Metropolis’s 5,969 residents. Last year it lent 13K print books and media and logged 11K visits.
Metropolis’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
72% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 24%. What your card is worth ↓
Programs are almost all for children
96% of the 166 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 51 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Metropolis Public Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Metropolis Public Library holds 31,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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 Metropolis’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Metropolis is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #198 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 →
32 community nonprofits are registered in Metropolis
5.5 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 (12 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.
11.7%
11.7% of Metropolis’ 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 Metropolis’ 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.
Metropolis Public Library serves 5,969 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
13K 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 Metropolis’ library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 31K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
About 3 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
Metropolis Public Library, 317 Metropolis Street, Metropolis.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Metropolis cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $359K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $238K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $359K 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 1,679 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Metropolis
Does Metropolis have a public library?
Yes. Metropolis Public Library, 317 Metropolis Street, serves Metropolis’ 5,969 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Metropolis Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Metropolis’ library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 2.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Metropolis’ civic life grade?
B+ Metropolis is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on civic life, #198 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 Metropolis.
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.