Eli Ulery House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMount Zion Township’s library is a branch of Mount Zion District Library, which lends more per resident than 72% of systems its size
Mount Zion Township’s library is the Mount Zion Public Library District, a branch of Mount Zion District Library, which serves 12,467 people and lent 77K items last year.
What stands out about Mount Zion Public Library District
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Mount Zion Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Mount Zion Township is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns, #385 of 754 in Illinois. Mount Zion Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Mount Zion Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($77K–$128K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in Mount Zion Township
2.2 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.
9.5%
9.5% of Mount Zion 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 Mount Zion Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Mount Zion District Library serves 12,467 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mount Zion District Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
77K 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 Zion Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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 Zion Public Library District, 115 West Main Street, Mount Zion.
Good at every Mount Zion District Library branch.
New in Mount Zion Township? The Handbook →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 $2.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mount Zion Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $665K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $665K 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 2,827 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Macon Township | South Macon Public Library District fine-free | 2.3 | 33 | A |
| Mount Zion Township | Mount Zion Public Library District | — | 55 | C+ |
| Dora Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Long Creek Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| South Wheatland Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Penn 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.
- Digital loans not reported. Illinois libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Mount Zion Public Library District is one branch of Mount Zion District Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 12,467 people it serves.
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 Zion Township
Does Mount Zion Township have a public library?
Yes: Mount Zion Public Library District, 115 West Main Street, is a branch of Mount Zion District Library, which serves 12,467 people. The branch is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mount Zion District Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Mount Zion Township’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 6.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Mount Zion Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Mount Zion Township is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns on civic life, #385 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 Zion 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.