Photo: TheCatalyst31 · CC BY-SA 4.0Shabbona Township’s library runs 123 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Flewellin Memorial Library serves 863 people in and around Shabbona Township. Last year it lent 2,077 print books and media and logged 3,037 visits.
The short version on Shabbona Township’s library
A small-town library
Flewellin Memorial Library serves 863 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
Open only about 19 hours a week
Flewellin Memorial Library keeps short hours: about 19 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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 Shabbona Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Shabbona Township is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. Shabbona Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Shabbona Township near the top nationally; Shabbona Township’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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Shabbona Township
16.6 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.
17.6%
17.6% of Shabbona 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 Shabbona Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Flewellin Memorial Library serves 863 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
2,077 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 Shabbona Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
About 1 kids’ program a week
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
Flewellin Memorial Library, 108 West Comanche, Shabbona.
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 Shabbona Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $43K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $43K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $43K 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 254 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton Township | Clinton Township Public Library | 3.8 | 30 | B |
| Shabbona Township | Flewellin Memorial Library | 2.4 | 19 | A+ |
| Milan Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Willow Creek Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Paw Paw Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Afton 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 Shabbona Township
Does Shabbona Township have a public library?
Yes. Flewellin Memorial Library, 108 West Comanche, serves 863 people in and around Shabbona Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 19 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Flewellin Memorial Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Shabbona Township’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 2.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Shabbona Township’s civic life grade?
A+ Shabbona Township is among the top 1% 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 Shabbona 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.