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Rantoul Public Library

Rantoul Township’s library lends 1.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size

Rantoul Public Library serves 12,371 people in and around Rantoul Township. Last year it lent 23K print books and media and logged 44K visits.

106 West Flessner Avenue, Rantoul 61866 · about 66 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
23K
1.8 per resident
Visits a year
44K
3.5 per resident · Above typical (3.1)
Programs & events
328
about 6 a week · 2,948 attended
Cardholders
16%
1,956 cards
Open
66 hrs
a week
In brief

The short version on Rantoul Township’s library

Few residents carry a card

Only 16% of the people Rantoul Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓

Open about 66 hours a week

Rantoul Public Library is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓

Programs lean toward adults

66% of the 328 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 83 were for children. Kids & programs ↓

A big collection for the borrowing it gets

Rantoul Public Library holds 64,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓

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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Rantoul Township’s civic life grade

Rantoul Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Rantoul Township’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 3.5 visits · typical 3.1Higher than 57%
Borrowing per resident 1.8 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 78%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.4Lower than 75%
Programs offered 26.5 per 1,000 residents · typical 24Higher than 56%
Cardholders 16% of residents · typical 40%Bottom 10%
Spending $68 per resident · typical $43Higher than 76%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Rantoul Public Library serves 12,371 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

44K
visits
3.5 per resident
23K
loans, print + digital
1.8 per resident
328
programs & events
2,948 attended
1,956
library cards
16% of people served
Every open hour7items borrowed
Every week57people at a program
Every day13Wi-Fi sessions
9 staff (full-time equivalent)10 public computers64K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

23K 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 Rantoul Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.

How hard the shelves work
0.4×

Each of the 64K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.

Kids & programs

About 2 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Rantoul Township →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–551
Ages 6–1132
Teens25
Adults217
All ages3
Little ones
1

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

2,948
people at programs
328
programs
The building

Find it

Rantoul Public Library, 106 West Flessner Avenue, Rantoul.

66
hours open a week
20,000
square feet
64K
books & media
With a card

Ask at the desk about getting a card.

New in Rantoul Township? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rantoul Township cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$68 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $836K.

Local taxes 80%State 15%Gifts & other 5%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $432K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $836K 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 1,956 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
Rantoul TownshipRantoul Public Library1.866— graded with its twin city
Ludlow TownshipNone of its own——D
Condit TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
Compromise TownshipNone of its own——B+
Somer TownshipNone 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).

How to read these numbers

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 Rantoul Township

Does Rantoul Township have a public library?

Yes. Rantoul Public Library, 106 West Flessner Avenue, serves 12,371 people in and around Rantoul Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Rantoul Public Library fine-free?

It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Rantoul Township’s library?

It logged 3.5 visits and lent 1.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.

What is Rantoul Township’s civic life grade?

Rantoul 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 Rantoul Township.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.