Photo: Nyttend · Public domainShelbyville’s library lends 6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Shelbyville Public Library serves Shelbyville’s 4,674 residents. Last year it lent 28K print books and media and logged 17K visits.
What Shelbyville’s library is like
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.
What’s behind Shelbyville’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Shelbyville is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns, #156 of 754 in Illinois. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Shelbyville’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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Shelbyville
5.5 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 (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.8%
8.8% of Shelbyville’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 Shelbyville’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Shelbyville Public Library serves 4,674 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 26K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
About 2 kids’ programs 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
Shelbyville Public Library, 154 North Broadway Street, Shelbyville.
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 $1.47 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shelbyville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $342K.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelbyville | Shelbyville Public Library | 6.0 | 52 | B+ |
| Shelbyville Township | Shelbyville Public Library | 6.0 | 52 | — graded with its twin city |
| Okaw 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 Shelbyville
Does Shelbyville have a public library?
Yes. Shelbyville Public Library, 154 North Broadway Street, serves Shelbyville’s 4,674 residents (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’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’s civic life grade?
B+ Shelbyville is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on civic life, #156 of 754 in Illinois. 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 Shelbyville.
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.