Ross Township’s library runs 20 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Chrisman Public Library serves 1,312 people in and around Ross Township. Last year it lent 5,027 print books and media and logged 4,944 visits.
Ross Township’s library, in brief
A small-town library
Chrisman Public Library serves 1,312 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 25 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Illinois pays a big share
37% of the budget comes from the state, and 41% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 16% of the people Chrisman Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Chrisman Public Library holds 21,000 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Ross Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ross Township is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns. Ross Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Ross 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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Ross Township
3.5 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.7%
8.7% of Ross 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 Ross Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Chrisman Public Library serves 1,312 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
5,027 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 Ross Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 21K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
26 programs a year
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
Chrisman Public Library, 108 North Illinois Street, Chrisman.
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 $2.95 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ross Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $32K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $93K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $32K 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 213 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ross Township | Chrisman Public Library fine-free | 3.8 | 25 | B |
| Elwood Township | Elwood Library District | — | 21 | C |
| Young America Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Prairie Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Carroll 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 Ross Township
Does Ross Township have a public library?
Yes. Chrisman Public Library, 108 North Illinois Street, serves 1,312 people in and around Ross Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chrisman Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Ross Township’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 3.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Ross Township’s civic life grade?
B Ross Township is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Ross 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.