Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0Odell Township’s library lends 5.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Odell Public Library District serves 1,386 people in and around Odell Township. Last year it lent 8,664 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,335 visits.
The short version on Odell Township’s library
Programs are almost all for children
91% of the 53 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 0 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 6% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 68% 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; Odell Public Library District serves 1,386 people in and around Odell Township, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Odell Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Odell Township is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns. Odell Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Odell Township
3.8 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.0%
8.0% of Odell 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 Odell Township’s residents live; 2022.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Odell Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $147K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $146K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $147K 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 162 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Odell Public Library District serves 1,386 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Odell Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
8,664 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
561 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
53 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
Odell Public Library District, 301 East Richard Street, Odell.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Odell Public Library District branch.
New in Odell Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Odell Township | Odell Public Library District | — | 29 | B− |
| Owego Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Esmen Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Union Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Nevada 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.
- System-wide. Odell Public Library District serves 1,386 people in and around Odell Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Odell Township.
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 Odell Township
Does Odell Township have a public library?
Yes. Odell Public Library District, 301 East Richard Street, serves 1,386 people in and around Odell Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Odell Public Library District fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Odell Township’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 6.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Odell Township’s civic life grade?
B− Odell Township is ahead of 54% 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 Odell 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.