Photo: Nyttend · Public domainSparta’s library runs 16 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Sparta Public Library serves Sparta’s 4,095 residents. Last year it lent 11K print books and media and logged 8,190 visits.
The short version on Sparta’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Sparta Public Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people Sparta Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Federal money pays a real share
4% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 77% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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.
What’s behind Sparta’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Sparta is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns, #329 of 754 in Illinois. Sparta’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
36 community nonprofits are registered in Sparta
8.9 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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.5%
6.5% of Sparta’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 Sparta’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Sparta Public Library serves 4,095 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
11K 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 Sparta’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
67 programs a year
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
Sparta Public Library, 211 West Broadway Street, Sparta.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sparta cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $221K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $198K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $221K 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 495 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 Sparta
Does Sparta have a public library?
Yes. Sparta Public Library, 211 West Broadway Street, serves Sparta’s 4,095 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sparta Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Sparta’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 2.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Sparta’s civic life grade?
B− Sparta is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns on civic life, #329 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 Sparta.
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.