Photo: User:Onemessedzebra · Public domainSt. Joseph Township’s library runs 13 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Saint Joseph Township-Swearingen Memorial Library serves St. Joseph Township’s 5,598 residents. Last year it lent 22K print books and media and logged 13K visits.
What’s behind St. Joseph Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, St. Joseph Township is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns, #461 of 754 in Illinois. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; St. Joseph Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($87K–$145K) 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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in St. Joseph Township
2.7 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.8%
8.8% of St. Joseph 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 St. Joseph Township’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.
Saint Joseph Township-Swearingen Memorial Library serves 5,598 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
22K 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 St. Joseph Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 30K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
73 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
Saint Joseph Township-Swearingen Memorial Library, 201 North Third Street, Saint Joseph.
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 $1.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average St. Joseph Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $214K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $375K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $214K 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 1,274 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
St. Joseph Township ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ogden Township | Ogden Rose Public Library fine-free | 9.2 | 13 | C− |
| St. Joseph Township | Saint Joseph Township-Swearingen Memorial Library | 3.9 | 42 | C+ |
| Sidney Township | Sidney Community Library | 3.2 | 28 | C+ |
| Stanton Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Urbana 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 St. Joseph Township
Does St. Joseph Township have a public library?
Yes. Saint Joseph Township-Swearingen Memorial Library, 201 North Third Street, serves St. Joseph Township’s 5,598 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Saint Joseph Township-Swearingen Memorial Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is St. Joseph Township’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 3.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is St. Joseph Township’s civic life grade?
C+ St. Joseph Township is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns on civic life, #461 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 St. Joseph 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.