Selby Township’s library logs 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Selby Township Library District serves Selby Township’s 2,159 residents. Last year it lent 1,088 print books and media and logged 2,369 visits.
Selby Township’s library, in brief
Selby Township Library District is used less than most libraries its size
Selby Township Library District records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $30 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Selby Township Library District serves 2,159 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 27 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 19% of the people Selby Township Library District serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
Federal money pays a real share
2% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 78% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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 Selby Township’s civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, Selby Township is ahead of 3% of U.S. towns. Selby Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Selby Township’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Selby Township Library District spends $30 per resident, against a typical $54 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($50K–$83K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
3 community nonprofits are registered in Selby Township
1.5 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Selby Township Library District serves 2,159 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Selby Township Library District
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,088 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 Selby Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
32 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
Selby Township Library District, 101 Depot Street, Depue.
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 Selby Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $66K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $21K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $66K 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 415 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Selby Township ranks 4th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton Township | Princeton Public Library fine-free | 6.4 | 53 | — graded with its twin city |
| Hall Township | Richard A. Mautino Memorial Library fine-free | 2.2 | 39 | C |
| Leepertown Township | Leepertown Township Public Library fine-free | 0.6 | 15 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Selby Township | Selby Township Library District fine-free | 0.5 | 27 | D− |
| De Pue | Selby Township Library District fine-free | 0.5 | 27 | — too few inputs |
| Berlin 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 Selby Township
Does Selby Township have a public library?
Yes. Selby Township Library District, 101 Depot Street, serves Selby Township’s 2,159 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 27 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Selby Township Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Selby Township’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 0.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Selby Township’s civic life grade?
D− Selby Township is ahead of 3% 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 Selby 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.