Photo: Ljmajer · CC BY-SA 4.0Streator’s library runs 12 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Streator Public Library serves Streator’s 12,500 residents. Last year it lent 23K print books and media and logged 32K visits.
The short version on Streator’s library
Federal money pays a real share
22% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 53% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Streator Public Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Streator Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1996. Today’s library there has 15,000 square feet. The building ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Streator Public Library holds 44,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. What people borrow ↓
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 Streator’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Streator is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns, #332 of 754 in Illinois. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
46 community nonprofits are registered in Streator
3.7 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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.7%
8.7% of Streator’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 Streator’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1996
Streator Public Library, 130 South Park Street, Streator.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Streator Public Library
Streator Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 2, 1996. It is significant for its education and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival. It was listed as part of Illinois Carnegie Libraries MPS.
The Streator Public Library is a historic Carnegie library located at 130 S. Park Street in Streator, Illinois. Opened in 1903, the library was the first permanent home for Streator's library association. Architects Patton & Miller designed the Classical Revival building. The library is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is still home to Streator's main public library.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Streator Public Library serves 12,500 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
23K 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 Streator’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 44K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time 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.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Streator cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $731K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $423K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $731K 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 2,756 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Streator | Streator Public Library | 1.8 | 57 | B− |
| Bruce Township | Streator Public Library | 1.8 | 57 | B |
| Eagle 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Streator Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 Streator
Does Streator have a public library?
Yes. Streator Public Library, 130 South Park Street, serves Streator’s 12,500 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Streator Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Streator’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 1.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Streator’s civic life grade?
B− Streator is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns on civic life, #332 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 Streator.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.