Photo: w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0Springfield’s library runs 3 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Lincoln Library serves Springfield’s 114,394 residents. Last year it lent 349K print books and media and logged 174K visits.
Springfield’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
Lincoln Library offered 342 programs last year, 3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 100,000+ people, Lincoln Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Illinois pays a big share
29% of the budget comes from the state, and 64% 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 Springfield’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Springfield is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #300 of 754 in Illinois. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #78. Springfield’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 →
680 community nonprofits are registered in Springfield
6.0 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 (145 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 34 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.5%
8.5% of Springfield’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 Springfield’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Lincoln Library serves 114,394 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 131 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
349K 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 Springfield’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 227K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 times 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
Lincoln Library, 326 South Seventh Street, Springfield.
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 $1.13 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Springfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $5.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.4M 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 33,594 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Springfield ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatham | Chatham Area Public Library District fine-free | 8.1 | 57 | B+ |
| Sherman | Sherman Public Library District fine-free | 7.8 | 62 | A− |
| Springfield | Lincoln Library fine-free | 3.0 | 51 | B− |
| Capital Township | Lincoln Library fine-free | 3.0 | 51 | B− |
| Clear Lake Township | Riverton Village Library | 2.6 | 40 | C− |
| Rochester Township | Rochester Public Library District | — | 49 | A− |
| Springfield Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Curran Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Ball Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Gardner Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Woodside Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
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 Springfield
Does Springfield have a public library?
Yes. Lincoln Library, 326 South Seventh Street, serves Springfield’s 114,394 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lincoln Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Springfield’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 3.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Springfield’s civic life grade?
B− Springfield is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on civic life, #300 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 Springfield.
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.