Photo: Nyttend · Public domainRushville’s library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Rushville Public Library serves Rushville’s 3,005 residents. Last year it lent 26K print books and media and logged 37K visits.
Rushville’s library, in brief
Rushville ranks 2nd in Illinois for library use
Out of 260 Illinois towns with a library of their own, Rushville comes 2nd for visits per resident. How it compares ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
51% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 33%. What your card is worth ↓
Rushville uses its library more than almost any town its size
Rushville Public Library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 8.5 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Programs draw a crowd
5,203 people came to the library’s 132 programs last year: 1.7 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A place to get online
Rushville Public Library logs about 111 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 10 public computers. That’s 13 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Rushville’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Rushville is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #8 of 754 in Illinois. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Rushville’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 →
36 community nonprofits are registered in Rushville
13.1 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.8%
9.8% of Rushville’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 Rushville’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Rushville Public Library serves 3,005 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Books and media off the shelf
26K 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 Rushville’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 26K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
132 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
Rushville Public Library, 514 Maple Avenue, Rushville.
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 $5.81 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rushville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $105K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $610K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $105K 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 574 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 Rushville
Does Rushville have a public library?
Yes. Rushville Public Library, 514 Maple Avenue, serves Rushville’s 3,005 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rushville Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Rushville’s library?
It logged 12.2 visits and lent 8.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Rushville’s civic life grade?
A+ Rushville is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on civic life, #8 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 Rushville.
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.