New Athens’ library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
New Athens District Library serves 3,991 people in and around New Athens. Last year it lent 6,903 print books and media and logged 5,720 visits.
What New Athens’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, New Athens District Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 14% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
New Athens District Library offered 35 programs last year, 8.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
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; New Athens District Library serves 3,991 people in and around New Athens, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind New Athens’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, New Athens is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns. New Athens is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; New Athens’ 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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in New Athens
4.1 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.6%
7.6% of New Athens’ 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 New Athens’ residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
New Athens District Library serves 3,991 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole New Athens District Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
6,903 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 New Athens’ library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
35 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
New Athens District Library, 201 North Van Buren Street, New Athens.
No late fees. Good at every New Athens District Library branch.
New in New Athens? The Handbook →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 New Athens cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $169K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $122K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $169K 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 559 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Athens | New Athens District Library fine-free | — | 44 | B |
| New Athens Township | New Athens District Library fine-free | — | 44 | C+ |
| Lenzburg 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. New Athens District Library serves 3,991 people in and around New Athens, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just New Athens.
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 New Athens
Does New Athens have a public library?
Yes. New Athens District Library, 201 North Van Buren Street, serves 3,991 people in and around New Athens (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New Athens District Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is New Athens’ library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 1.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is New Athens’ civic life grade?
B New Athens is ahead of 56% 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 New Athens.
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.