Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 4.0Peru Township’s library logs 4.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Peru Public Library serves Peru Township’s 9,904 residents. Last year it lent 54K print books and media and logged 48K visits.
Peru Township’s library, in brief
Few residents carry a card
Only 15% of the people Peru Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Peru Township out-borrows every town next door
At 5.4 loans per resident, Peru Township leads the six towns here. The closest is Peru, at 5.4. Libraries next door ↓
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 Peru Township’s civic life grade
Peru 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Peru Public Library serves 9,904 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
54K 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 Peru 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 1.6 times 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.
Find it
Peru Public Library, 1409 Eleventh Street, Peru.
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 $1.38 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Peru Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $698K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $964K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $698K 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 1,511 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Peru Township borrows the most per resident of the 6 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peru Township | Peru Public Library fine-free | 5.4 | 58 | — graded with its twin city |
| Peru | Peru Public Library fine-free | 5.4 | 58 | B+ |
| Spring Valley | Richard A. Mautino Memorial Library fine-free | 2.2 | 39 | C− |
| Hall Township | Richard A. Mautino Memorial Library fine-free | 2.2 | 39 | C |
| LaSalle Township | Lasalle Public Library fine-free | 1.8 | 43 | B+ |
| LaSalle | Lasalle Public Library fine-free | 1.8 | 43 | B+ |
| Dimmick Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Eden Township | None of its own | — | — | A |
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. Peru 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 Peru Township
Does Peru Township have a public library?
Yes. Peru Public Library, 1409 Eleventh Street, serves Peru Township’s 9,904 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Peru Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Peru Township’s library?
It logged 4.8 visits and lent 5.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Peru Township’s civic life grade?
Peru 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 Peru 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.