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Shelby County Courthouse in IllinoisPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
Shelbyville Public Library

Shelbyville Township’s library lends 6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size

Shelbyville Public Library serves 4,674 people in and around Shelbyville Township. Last year it lent 28K print books and media and logged 17K visits.

154 North Broadway Street, Shelbyville 62565 · about 52 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
28K
6 per resident
Visits a year
17K
3.7 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
135
about 3 a week · 2,090 attended
Cardholders
17%
784 cards
Open
52 hrs
a week
In brief

The short version on Shelbyville Township’s library

Programs are almost all for children

86% of the 135 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓

Few residents carry a card

Only 17% of the people Shelbyville Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓

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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Shelbyville Township’s civic life grade

Shelbyville Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Shelbyville Township’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 3.7 visits · typical 3Higher than 60%
Borrowing per resident 6 print items · typical 3.8Higher than 73%
Program attendance 0.4 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 54%
Programs offered 28.9 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 58%
Cardholders 17% of residents · typical 42%Bottom 10%
Spending $73 per resident · typical $43Higher than 80%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Shelbyville Public Library serves 4,674 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

17K
visits
3.7 per resident
28K
loans, print + digital
6 per resident
135
programs & events
2,090 attended
784
library cards
17% of people served
Every open hour10items borrowed
Every week40people at a program
Every day5Wi-Fi sessions
5 staff (full-time equivalent)12 public computers26K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

28K 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 Shelbyville Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.

How hard the shelves work
1.1×

Each of the 26K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.

Kids & programs

About 2 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Shelbyville Township →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–570
Ages 6–1146
Teens0
Adults19
All ages0
Little ones
1.3

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

2,090
people at programs
135
programs
The building

Find it

Shelbyville Public Library, 154 North Broadway Street, Shelbyville.

52
hours open a week
13,600
square feet
26K
books & media
With a card

Ask at the desk about getting a card.

New in Shelbyville Township? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.47 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shelbyville Township cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
3
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$612
a year at retail prices · $51 a month

Who pays for it
$73 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $342K.

Local taxes 87%State 9%Gifts & other 4%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $501K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $342K 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 784 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
Shelbyville TownshipShelbyville Public Library6.052— graded with its twin city
ShelbyvilleShelbyville Public Library6.052B+
Okaw TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
Richland TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
Clarksburg TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
Rose TownshipNone of its own——C+

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).

How to read these numbers

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 Shelbyville Township

Does Shelbyville Township have a public library?

Yes. Shelbyville Public Library, 154 North Broadway Street, serves 4,674 people in and around Shelbyville Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Shelbyville Public Library fine-free?

It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Shelbyville Township’s library?

It logged 3.7 visits and lent 6.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Shelbyville Township’s civic life grade?

Shelbyville 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 Shelbyville Township.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.