South Homer Township’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Homer Community Library serves 1,073 people in and around South Homer Township. Last year it lent 12K print books and media and logged 8,965 visits.
What South Homer Township’s library is like
Busy on a lean budget
Homer Community Library spends $37 per resident, less than 72% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). It’s still busier than 87% of them. What your card is worth ↓
South Homer Township uses its library more than almost any town its size
Homer Community Library logs 8.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 85% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Homer Community Library serves 1,073 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 29 hours a week. 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 ↓
South Homer Township out-borrows every town next door
At 11 loans per resident, South Homer Township leads the four towns here. The closest is Ogden Township, at 9.2. Libraries next door ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Homer Community Library charges late fines on some overdue items. Two of the three libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
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 South Homer Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, South Homer Township is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. South Homer Township is graded on two of the three inputs. South Homer Township’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in South Homer Township
7.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.4%
7.4% of South Homer 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 South Homer Township’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
12K 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 Homer Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 28K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Homer Community Library serves 1,073 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
87 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Homer Community Library, 500 East Second Street, Homer.
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 $5.57 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Homer Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $40K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $223K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $40K 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 636 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
South Homer Township borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Homer Township | Homer Community Library | 10.9 | 29 | A− |
| Ogden Township | Ogden Rose Public Library fine-free | 9.2 | 13 | C− |
| Vance Township | Vance Township Library fine-free | 4.0 | 25 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sidney Township | Sidney Community Library | 3.2 | 28 | C+ |
| Ayers 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 South Homer Township
Does South Homer Township have a public library?
Yes. Homer Community Library, 500 East Second Street, serves 1,073 people in and around South Homer Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Homer Community Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is South Homer Township’s library?
It logged 8.4 visits and lent 10.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is South Homer Township’s civic life grade?
A− South Homer Township is ahead of 78% 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 South Homer 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.