Photo: Dual Freq · CC BY 2.5Paxton’s library lends 6.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Paxton Carnegie Library serves Paxton’s 4,450 residents. Last year it lent 29K print books and media and logged 8,143 visits.
What Paxton’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
94% of the 166 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 49 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 77% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 72%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Paxton Carnegie Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2002. Today’s library there has 6,320 square feet. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people Paxton Carnegie Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Illinois pays a big share
24% of the budget comes from the state, and 73% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
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 Paxton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Paxton is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns, #471 of 754 in Illinois. Paxton’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($47K–$78K) 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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Paxton
4.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.0%
7.0% of Paxton’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 Paxton’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 2002
Paxton Carnegie Library, 254 South Market Street, Paxton.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Paxton Carnegie Public Library
Paxton 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.
Paxton Carnegie Public Library is in the Ford County, Illinois city of Paxton. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places. The building is still used by the Paxton Carnegie Library and is open as a public library.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Paxton Carnegie Library serves 4,450 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
29K 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 Paxton’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 26K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
About 3 kids’ programs 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 $2.96 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Paxton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $169K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $501K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $169K 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 593 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Paxton
Does Paxton have a public library?
Yes. Paxton Carnegie Library, 254 South Market Street, serves Paxton’s 4,450 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Paxton Carnegie Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Paxton’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 6.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Paxton’s civic life grade?
C Paxton is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns on civic life, #471 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 Paxton.
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.