Photo: Teemu08 · CC BY-SA 3.0Peotone’s library logs 1.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Peotone Public Library District serves 16,851 people in and around Peotone. Last year it lent 38K print books and media and logged 30K visits.
Peotone’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Peotone Public Library District 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 13% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% 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; Peotone Public Library District serves 16,851 people in and around Peotone, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Peotone’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Peotone is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns, #152 of 754 in Illinois. Peotone 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 →
21 community nonprofits are registered in Peotone
4.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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.
8.9%
8.9% of Peotone’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 Peotone’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Peotone Public Library District serves 16,851 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Peotone Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
38K 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 Peotone’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
Peotone Public Library District, 515 North First Street, Peotone.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.09 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Peotone cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $646K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $703K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $646K 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 2,174 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.
- System-wide. Peotone Public Library District serves 16,851 people in and around Peotone, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Peotone.
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 Peotone
Does Peotone have a public library?
Yes. Peotone Public Library District, 515 North First Street, serves 16,851 people in and around Peotone (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Peotone Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Peotone’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 2.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Peotone’s civic life grade?
B+ Peotone is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns on civic life, #152 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 Peotone.
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.