Photo: Nyttend · Public domainRobinson’s library logs 2.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Robinson Public Library District serves Robinson’s 14,676 residents from 4 locations. Last year it lent 43K print books and media and logged 33K visits.
The short version on Robinson’s library
Few residents carry a card
Only 14% of the people Robinson Public Library District serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Robinson Public Library District holds 81,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. What people borrow ↓
Four places to borrow in Robinson
Robinson Public Library District runs four locations, and one card works at all of them. 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 Robinson’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Robinson is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #87 of 754 in Illinois. Robinson is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Robinson’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
65 community nonprofits are registered in Robinson
9.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (22 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.8%
7.8% of Robinson’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 Robinson’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Robinson Public Library District serves 14,676 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
43K 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 Robinson’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 81K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
About 4 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.
4 places to borrow in Robinson
Robinson Public Library District, 606 North Jefferson Street, Robinson.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Robinson
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Robinson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $890K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $839K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $890K 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 2,030 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 Robinson
Does Robinson have a public library?
Yes. Robinson Public Library District, 606 North Jefferson Street, serves Robinson’s 14,676 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Robinson Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Robinson’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 2.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Robinson’s civic life grade?
A− Robinson is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life, #87 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 Robinson.
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.