Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Tuscola Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Henry Ahrens HouseHenry Ahrens House · Photo: Esvobod2 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Tuscola Public Library

Tuscola Township’s library logs 4.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size

Tuscola Public Library serves 4,636 people in and around Tuscola Township. Last year it lent 21K print books and media and logged 20K visits.

112 East Sale Street, Tuscola 61953 · about 48 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
21K
4.6 per resident
Visits a year
20K
4.3 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
160
about 3 a week · 3,563 attended
Cardholders
19%
873 cards
Open
48 hrs
a week
Civic life grade

What’s behind Tuscola Township’s civic life grade

Tuscola Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Tuscola Township’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 6 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 4.3 visits · typical 3Higher than 68%
Borrowing per resident 4.6 print items · typical 3.8Higher than 59%
Program attendance 0.8 attendees · typical 0.5Higher than 68%
Programs offered 34.5 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Higher than 50%
Cardholders 19% of residents · typical 42%Lower than 87%
Spending $42 per resident · typical $43Lower than 51%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Tuscola Public Library serves 4,636 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

20K
visits
4.3 per resident
21K
loans, print + digital
4.6 per resident
160
programs & events
3,563 attended
873
library cards
19% of people served
Every open hour9items borrowed
Every week69people at a program
Every day1Wi-Fi sessions
2 staff (full-time equivalent)4 public computers14K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

21K 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 Tuscola Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.

How hard the shelves work
1.6×

Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.

Kids & programs

About 2 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Tuscola Township →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–544
Ages 6–1165
Teens4
Adults41
All ages6
Little ones
0.8

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

3,563
people at programs
160
programs
The building

Find it

Tuscola Public Library, 112 East Sale Street, Tuscola.

48
hours open a week
3,600
square feet
14K
books & media
With a card

Ask at the desk about getting a card.

New in Tuscola Township? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.04 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tuscola Township cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
2
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$408
a year at retail prices · $34 a month

Who pays for it
$42 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $195K.

Local taxes 79%State 12%Gifts & other 9%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $399K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $195K 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 873 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
Tuscola TownshipTuscola Public Library4.648— graded with its twin city
Arcola TownshipArcola Public Library District fine-free—43— graded with its twin city
Camargo TownshipCamargo Township District Library fine-free—49C
Garrett TownshipNone of its own——B
Pesotum TownshipNone 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).

How to read these numbers

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 Tuscola Township

Does Tuscola Township have a public library?

Yes. Tuscola Public Library, 112 East Sale Street, serves 4,636 people in and around Tuscola Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Tuscola Public Library fine-free?

It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Tuscola Township’s library?

It logged 4.3 visits and lent 4.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Tuscola Township’s civic life grade?

Tuscola Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Tuscola Township.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.