Duncan Manor · Photo: Greerje at en.wikipedia · Public domainTowanda Township’s library lends 9.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Towanda District Library serves Towanda Township’s 1,939 residents. Last year it lent 18K print books and media and logged 7,363 visits.
What stands out about Towanda Township’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Towanda Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Towanda Township is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns. Towanda Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Towanda Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls 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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Towanda Township
3.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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.
9.9%
9.9% of Towanda 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 Towanda Township’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
18K 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 Towanda Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Towanda District Library serves 1,939 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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
Towanda District Library, 301 South Taylor Street, Towanda.
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 $1.77 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Towanda Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $200K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $354K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $200K 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 427 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Towanda Township ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | Normal Public Library fine-free | 13.3 | 62 | B− |
| Normal Township | Normal Public Library fine-free | 13.3 | 62 | — graded with its twin city |
| Towanda Township | Towanda District Library fine-free | 9.4 | 34 | B+ |
| Bloomington | Bloomington Public Library fine-free | 9.0 | 64 | C+ |
| Bloomington City Township | Bloomington Public Library fine-free | 9.0 | 64 | C+ |
| Old Town Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Money Creek Township | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Blue Mound Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 Towanda Township
Does Towanda Township have a public library?
Yes. Towanda District Library, 301 South Taylor Street, serves Towanda Township’s 1,939 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Towanda District Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Towanda Township’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 9.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Towanda Township’s civic life grade?
B+ Towanda Township is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Towanda 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.