Photo: User:Onemessedzebra · Public domainSt. Joseph’s library runs 13 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Saint Joseph Township-Swearingen Memorial Library serves 5,598 people in and around St. Joseph. Last year it lent 22K print books and media and logged 13K visits.
The short version on St. Joseph’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Saint Joseph Township-Swearingen Memorial Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Saint Joseph Township-Swearingen Memorial Library serves more than St. Joseph
The library’s service area covers 5,598 people in and around St. Joseph, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. 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 St. Joseph’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, St. Joseph is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #215 of 754 in Illinois. St. Joseph is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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
4.0 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.
8.9%
8.9% of St. Joseph’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’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’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 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.
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
Does St. Joseph have a public library?
Yes. Saint Joseph Township-Swearingen Memorial Library, 201 North Third Street, serves 5,598 people in and around St. Joseph (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’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’s civic life grade?
B+ St. Joseph is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on civic life, #215 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.
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.