Middleport Township’s library lends 6.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Watseka Public Library serves 4,679 people in and around Middleport Township. Last year it lent 39K books, movies and e-books and logged 18K visits.
Middleport Township’s library, in brief
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
26% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 61%. What your card is worth ↓
Watseka Public Library serves more than Middleport Township
The library’s service area covers 4,679 people in and around Middleport Township, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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 Middleport Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Middleport Township is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #285 of 754 in Illinois. Middleport Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Middleport Township’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls 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 →
25 community nonprofits are registered in Middleport Township
6.8 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.7%
5.7% of Middleport 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 Middleport Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Watseka Public Library serves 4,679 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
39K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 33K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
7,023 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
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
Watseka Public Library, 201 South 4th Street, Watseka.
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 $2.16 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Middleport Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $285K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $615K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $285K 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 1,584 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middleport Township | Watseka Public Library | 8.2 | 49 | B |
| Belmont Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Iroquois Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Concord Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Martinton Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Crescent 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Middleport Township
Does Middleport Township have a public library?
Yes. Watseka Public Library, 201 South 4th Street, serves 4,679 people in and around Middleport Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Watseka Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Middleport Township’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 8.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Middleport Township’s civic life grade?
B Middleport Township is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on civic life, #285 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 Middleport 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.