Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Paris Township’s library logs 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Paris Carnegie Public Library serves 8,291 people in and around Paris Township. Last year it lent 25K print books and media and logged 6,500 visits.
What Paris Township’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Paris Carnegie Public Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Paris Carnegie Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2002. Today’s library there has 8,360 square feet. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people Paris Carnegie Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
Paris Carnegie Public Library records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, below 92% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 3.1 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
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 Paris Township’s civic life grade
Paris Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
A National Register landmark since 2002
Paris Carnegie Public Library, 207 South Main Street, Paris.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Paris Carnegie Public Library
Paris Carnegie Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 9, 2002. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival. It was listed as part of Illinois Carnegie Libraries MPS.
The Paris Carnegie Public Library was opened to the public on June 24, 1904. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and is still home to the Paris Public Library at 207 South Main Street in Paris, Illinois, located in Edgar County.
More about the building →Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Paris Carnegie Public Library serves 8,291 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
25K 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 Paris Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 34K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
About 1 kids’ program a week
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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.43 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Paris Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $183K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $444K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $183K 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 1,488 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris Township | Paris Carnegie Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 44 | — graded with its twin city |
| Paris | Paris Carnegie Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 44 | C |
| Symmes Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Buck Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Stratton Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Edgar Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Hunter Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Elbridge 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.
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 Paris Township
Does Paris Township have a public library?
Yes. Paris Carnegie Public Library, 207 South Main Street, serves 8,291 people in and around Paris Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Paris Carnegie Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Paris Township’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 3.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Paris Township’s civic life grade?
Paris Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Paris 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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.