Photo: Dual Freq · CC BY 2.5Monticello’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Allerton Public Library District serves 6,133 people in and around Monticello. Last year it lent 68K print books and media and logged 31K visits.
The short version on Monticello’s library
Illinois pays a big share
59% of the budget comes from the state, and 33% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Monticello is a town of borrowers
Allerton Public Library District lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 93% of similar-size libraries. 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 Monticello’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Monticello is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #29 of 754 in Illinois. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
46 community nonprofits are registered in Monticello
7.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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.
12.5%
12.5% of Monticello’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 Monticello’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
68K 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 Monticello’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 36K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.9 times last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Allerton Public Library District serves 6,133 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 4 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
Allerton Public Library District, 4000 Green Apple Lane, Monticello.
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 $2.71 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Monticello cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $448K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $448K 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 1,538 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 Monticello
Does Monticello have a public library?
Yes. Allerton Public Library District, 4000 Green Apple Lane, serves 6,133 people in and around Monticello (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Allerton Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Monticello’s library?
It logged 5.0 visits and lent 11.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Monticello’s civic life grade?
A Monticello is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on civic life, #29 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 Monticello.
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.