Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMount Pulaski’s library lends 5.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Mount Pulaski Public Library District serves Mount Pulaski’s 2,721 residents. Last year it lent 16K print books and media and logged 2,500 visits.
What stands out about Mount Pulaski’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Mount Pulaski’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Mount Pulaski is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns. Mount Pulaski is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Mount Pulaski’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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Mount Pulaski
10.0 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.4%
9.4% of Mount Pulaski’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 Pulaski’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Mount Pulaski Public Library District serves 2,721 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
16K 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 Mount Pulaski’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 20K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
56 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.
Find it
Mount Pulaski Public Library District, 320 North Washington Street, Mount Pulaski.
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 $1.94 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mount Pulaski cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $150K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $291K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $150K 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 540 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 Mount Pulaski
Does Mount Pulaski have a public library?
Yes. Mount Pulaski Public Library District, 320 North Washington Street, serves Mount Pulaski’s 2,721 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mount Pulaski Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Mount Pulaski’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 5.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Mount Pulaski’s civic life grade?
A Mount Pulaski is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Pulaski.
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.