Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMount Carmel’s library logs 5.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Mount Carmel Public Library serves Mount Carmel’s 7,015 residents. Last year it lent 15K books, movies and e-books and logged 38K visits.
Mount Carmel’s library, in brief
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 77% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 26%. A year at the library ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Mount Carmel Public Library offered 15 programs last year, 2.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 10% of the people Mount Carmel Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Federal money pays a real share
1% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 74% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Mount Carmel Public Library holds 50,000 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 Mount Carmel’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Mount Carmel is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #47 of 754 in Illinois. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Mount Carmel’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
54 community nonprofits are registered in Mount Carmel
7.9 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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.6%
9.6% of Mount Carmel’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 Mount Carmel’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Mount Carmel Public Library serves 7,015 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.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
15K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 50K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
15 programs a year
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Mount Carmel last year.
Find it
Mount Carmel Public Library, 727 North Mulberry Street, Mount Carmel.
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 Mount Carmel cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $248K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $246K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $248K 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 686 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Carmel | Mount Carmel Public Library | 2.2 | 48 | A |
| White River Township | None of its own | — | — | A |
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. Mount Carmel Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Mount Carmel
Does Mount Carmel have a public library?
Yes. Mount Carmel Public Library, 727 North Mulberry Street, serves Mount Carmel’s 7,015 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mount Carmel Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Mount Carmel’s library?
It logged 5.4 visits and lent 2.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Mount Carmel’s civic life grade?
A Mount Carmel is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life, #47 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 Mount Carmel.
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.