Photo: Andy McMurray · CC BY 2.5Polo’s library runs 239 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Polo Public Library District serves 2,692 people in and around Polo. Last year it lent 16K print books and media and logged 14K visits.
Polo’s library, in brief
Seven times the programs of a typical library its size
Polo Public Library District ran 644 programs last year, about 12 a week. That’s 239 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 4,696 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
32% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 64%. What your card is worth ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Buffalo Township Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1995. Today’s library there has 5,060 square feet. The building ↓
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 Polo’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Polo is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns. Polo is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Polo’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Polo
3.6 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.9%
10.9% of Polo’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 Polo’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Polo Public Library District serves 2,692 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
16K 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 Polo’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
A National Register landmark since 1995
Polo Public Library District, 302 West Mason Street, Polo.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Buffalo Township Public Library
Buffalo Township Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Nov 7, 1995. It is significant for its education at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival. It was listed as part of Illinois Carnegie Libraries MPS.
The Buffalo Township Public Library, now the Polo Public Library, is a Carnegie library listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the Ogle County, Illinois city of Polo.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.67 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Polo cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $196K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $328K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $196K 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 942 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 Polo
Does Polo have a public library?
Yes. Polo Public Library District, 302 West Mason Street, serves 2,692 people in and around Polo (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Polo Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Polo’s library?
It logged 5.2 visits and lent 6.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Polo’s civic life grade?
B+ Polo is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Polo.
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.