Photo: B45p32b · CC BY-SA 4.0South Beloit’s library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
South Beloit Public Library serves South Beloit’s 7,989 residents. Last year it lent 18K print books and media and logged 11K visits.
South Beloit’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, South Beloit Public Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Illinois pays a big share
29% of the budget comes from the state, and 68% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people South Beloit 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 South Beloit’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, South Beloit is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns, #636 of 754 in Illinois. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($59K–$98K) 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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in South Beloit
2.5 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.9%
6.9% of South Beloit’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 South Beloit’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
South Beloit Public Library serves 7,989 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
18K 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 South Beloit’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 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
South Beloit Public Library, 630 Blackhawk Boulevard, South Beloit.
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 $1.44 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Beloit cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $238K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $342K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $238K 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 954 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.
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 South Beloit
Does South Beloit have a public library?
Yes. South Beloit Public Library, 630 Blackhawk Boulevard, serves South Beloit’s 7,989 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South Beloit Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is South Beloit’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 2.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is South Beloit’s civic life grade?
C− South Beloit is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns on civic life, #636 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 South Beloit.
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.