Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Paris’ library logs 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Paris Carnegie Public Library serves Paris’s 8,291 residents. Last year it lent 25K print books and media and logged 6,500 visits.
What Paris’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 ↓
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’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Paris is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #503 of 754 in Illinois. Paris’ count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($40K–$67K) 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 →
75 community nonprofits are registered in Paris
9.1 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 (16 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.1%
5.1% of Paris’ 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 Paris’ residents live; 2022.
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’ 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 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 | Paris Carnegie Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 44 | C |
| Paris Township | Paris Carnegie Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 44 | — graded with its twin city |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Paris Carnegie Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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
Does Paris have a public library?
Yes. Paris Carnegie Public Library, 207 South Main Street, serves Paris’ 8,291 residents (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’ 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’ civic life grade?
C Paris is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on civic life, #503 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 Paris.
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.