Photo: Kepper66 · CC BY-SA 4.0Princeton Township’s library logs 7.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Princeton Public Library serves 7,832 people in and around Princeton Township. Last year it lent 50K print books and media and logged 58K visits.
What Princeton Township’s library is like
Princeton Township out-borrows every town next door
At 6.4 loans per resident, Princeton Township leads the five towns here. The closest is Princeton, at 6.4. Libraries next door ↓
People come to Princeton Public Library a lot
Princeton Public Library logs 7.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 88% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 6.4 print items per resident. 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.
What’s behind Princeton Township’s civic life grade
Princeton 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Princeton Public Library serves 7,832 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Books and media off the shelf
50K 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 Princeton Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 71K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Princeton Public Library, 698 East Peru Street, Princeton.
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 $1.87 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Princeton Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $498K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $930K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $498K 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 2,061 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Princeton Township borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton Township | Princeton Public Library fine-free | 6.4 | 53 | — graded with its twin city |
| Princeton | Princeton Public Library fine-free | 6.4 | 53 | A |
| Arispie Township | Tiskilwa Public Library fine-free | 3.4 | 37 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Wyanet Township | Raymond A. Sapp Memorial Township Library fine-free | 1.6 | 24 | C− |
| Selby Township | Selby Township Library District fine-free | 0.5 | 27 | D− |
| Dover Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- 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 Princeton Township
Does Princeton Township have a public library?
Yes. Princeton Public Library, 698 East Peru Street, serves 7,832 people in and around Princeton Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Princeton Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Princeton Township’s library?
It logged 7.4 visits and lent 6.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Princeton Township’s civic life grade?
Princeton 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 Princeton 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.