Piper City’s library lends 9.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Piper City Public Library District serves 1,021 people in and around Piper City. Last year it lent 9,567 print books and media and logged 2,384 visits.
Piper City’s library, in brief
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 68%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Piper City Public Library District serves 1,021 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 26 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people Piper City Public Library District serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
Piper City Public Library District serves more than Piper City
The library’s service area covers 1,021 people in and around Piper City, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
73% of the 60 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 16 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Piper City’s civic life grade
Piper City 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 →
Books and media off the shelf
9,567 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 Piper City’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Piper City Public Library District serves 1,021 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
60 programs a year
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
Piper City Public Library District, 39 West Main Street, Piper City.
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 $3.51 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Piper City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $48K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $168K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $48K 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 124 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 Piper City
Does Piper City have a public library?
Yes. Piper City Public Library District, 39 West Main Street, serves 1,021 people in and around Piper City (the survey’s count) and is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Piper City Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Piper City’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 9.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Piper City’s civic life grade?
Piper City 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 Piper City.
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.