Richwoods Township’s library runs 82 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Peoria Heights Public Library serves 5,908 people in and around Richwoods Township. Last year it lent 37K print books and media and logged 24K visits.
The short version on Richwoods Township’s library
Illinois pays a big share
20% of the budget comes from the state, and 71% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 487 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.6 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Richwoods Township invests in its library
Peoria Heights Public Library spends $96 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
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 Richwoods Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Richwoods Township is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns, #361 of 754 in Illinois. Library visits hold the grade up; Richwoods Township’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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Richwoods Township
2.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.7%
7.7% of Richwoods 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 Richwoods Township’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.
Peoria Heights Public Library serves 5,908 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
37K 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 Richwoods Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 40K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
Find it
Peoria Heights Public Library, 816 East Glen Avenue, Peoria Heights.
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 $1.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Richwoods Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $570K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $727K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $570K 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 1,122 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Richwoods Township ranks 2nd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fondulac Township | Fondulac Public Library District fine-free | 7.5 | 61 | C+ |
| Richwoods Township | Peoria Heights Public Library fine-free | 6.2 | 47 | B− |
| Peoria Heights | Peoria Heights Public Library fine-free | 6.2 | 47 | B− |
| Peoria City Township | Peoria Public Library fine-free | 4.7 | 52 | B− |
| Peoria | Peoria Public Library fine-free | 4.7 | 52 | C+ |
| Medina Township | North Branch Library fine-free | 4.7 | 48 | B |
| Spring Bay Township | Spring Bay Branch Library fine-free | — | 12 | C− |
| Kickapoo Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
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 Richwoods Township
Does Richwoods Township have a public library?
Yes. Peoria Heights Public Library, 816 East Glen Avenue, serves 5,908 people in and around Richwoods Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Peoria Heights Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Richwoods Township’s library?
It logged 4.0 visits and lent 6.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Richwoods Township’s civic life grade?
B− Richwoods Township is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns on civic life, #361 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 Richwoods 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.