Rich Township’s library logs 9.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Flossmoor Public Library serves 9,704 people in and around Rich Township. Last year it lent 94K print books and media and logged 94K visits.
The short version on Rich Township’s library
Rich Township uses its library more than almost any town its size
Flossmoor Public Library logs 9.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 9.7 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Programs draw a crowd
19,000 people came to the library’s 335 programs last year: 2 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Rich Township out-borrows every town next door
At 9.7 loans per resident, Rich Township leads the seven towns here. The closest is Flossmoor, at 9.7. Libraries next door ↓
Rich Township invests in its library
Flossmoor Public Library spends $143 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (88%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 65 hours a week
Flossmoor Public Library is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 28 items go out. The buildings ↓
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 Rich Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Rich Township is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #416 of 754 in Illinois. Rich Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Rich Township’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($63K–$105K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
441 community nonprofits are registered in Rich Township
5.9 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 (167 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 36 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.3%
4.3% of Rich Township’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 Rich Township’s residents live; 2022.
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.
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.
Flossmoor Public Library serves 9,704 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 28 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
94K 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 Rich Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 67K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
4 places to borrow in Rich Township
Flossmoor Public Library, 1000 Sterling Avenue, Flossmoor.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Rich Township
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.32 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rich Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 3,106 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Rich Township borrows the most per resident of the 7 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rich Township | Flossmoor Public Library | 9.7 | 65 | C+ |
| Flossmoor | Flossmoor Public Library | 9.7 | 65 | A+ |
| Tinley Park | Tinley Park Public Library | 9.2 | 70 | C+ |
| Frankfort Township | Frankfort Public Library District | 7.7 | 67 | C+ |
| Frankfort | Frankfort Public Library District | 7.7 | 67 | B+ |
| Homewood | Homewood Public Library District | 7.5 | 67 | A |
| Matteson | Matteson Public Library fine-free | 3.4 | 65 | C+ |
| Bremen Township | Acorn Public Library District fine-free | — | 64 | D |
| Bloom Township | Glenwood-Lynwood Public Library District fine-free | — | 51 | C− |
| Frankfort Square | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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 Rich Township
Does Rich Township have a public library?
Yes. Flossmoor Public Library, 1000 Sterling Avenue, serves 9,704 people in and around Rich Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Flossmoor Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Rich Township’s library?
It logged 9.6 visits and lent 9.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Rich Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Rich Township is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on civic life, #416 of 754 in Illinois. 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 Rich 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.