Salem Township’s library lends 5.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Salem Township Public Library District serves Salem Township’s 1,117 residents. Last year it lent 6,312 print books and media and logged 3,572 visits.
The short version on Salem Township’s library
A small-town library
Salem Township Public Library District serves 1,117 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 40 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 ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Salem Township Public Library District charges late fines on some overdue items. Two of the three libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Salem Township’s civic life grade
Salem Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Salem Township Public Library District serves 1,117 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
6,312 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 Salem Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
80 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
Salem Township Public Library District, 102 N. Burson Street, Yates City.
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 $1.64 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Salem Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $70K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $114K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $70K 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 345 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elmwood Township | Morrison & Mary Wiley Library | 6.1 | 35 | A |
| Salem Township | Salem Township Public Library District | 5.7 | 40 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Farmington Township | Farmington Area Public Library District fine-free | — | 54 | A |
| Maquon Township | Maquon Public Library District fine-free | — | 37 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Elba 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 Salem Township
Does Salem Township have a public library?
Yes. Salem Township Public Library District, 102 N. Burson Street, serves Salem Township’s 1,117 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Salem Township Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Salem Township’s library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 5.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Salem Township’s civic life grade?
Salem Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Salem 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.