Saybrook’s library lends 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Cheneys Grove Township Library serves 675 people in and around Saybrook. Last year it lent 383 print books and media and logged 1,581 visits.
The short version on Saybrook’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Cheneys Grove Township Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Cheneys Grove Township Library serves 675 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 24 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 ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 14% of the people Cheneys Grove Township Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Cheneys Grove Township Library lends 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, fewer than 96% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. 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 Saybrook’s civic life grade
Saybrook 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 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Cheneys Grove Township Library serves 675 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Cheneys Grove Township Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
383 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 Saybrook’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 6,403 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
14 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Cheneys Grove Township Library, 204 South State Street, Saybrook.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Saybrook cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $46K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7,271 worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $46K 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 95 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 Saybrook
Does Saybrook have a public library?
Yes. Cheneys Grove Township Library, 204 South State Street, serves 675 people in and around Saybrook (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cheneys Grove Township Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Saybrook’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 0.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Saybrook’s civic life grade?
Saybrook 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 Saybrook.
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.