Photo: Sherrard Bank owner · CC BY-SA 3.0Sherrard’s library runs 43 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Sherrard Public Library District serves Sherrard’s 6,232 residents. Last year it lent 21K print books and media and logged 15K visits.
What’s behind Sherrard’s civic life grade
Sherrard 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 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Sherrard Public Library District serves 6,232 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
21K 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 Sherrard’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 32K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
About 3 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
Sherrard Public Library District, 501 Third Street, Sherrard.
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 $1.22 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sherrard cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $308K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $376K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $308K 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 1,388 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 Sherrard
Does Sherrard have a public library?
Yes. Sherrard Public Library District, 501 Third Street, serves Sherrard’s 6,232 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sherrard Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Sherrard’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 3.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Sherrard’s civic life grade?
Sherrard 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 Sherrard.
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.