Photo: Jon Platek · CC BY-SA 3.0Vandalia Township’s library runs 11 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Evans Public Library District serves 11,960 people in and around Vandalia Township. Last year it lent 35K print books and media and logged 32K visits.
Vandalia Township’s library, in brief
Illinois pays a big share
85% of the budget comes from the state, and 15% 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, Evans Public Library District sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 10% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
71% of the 129 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 45 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Evans Public Library District serves 11,960 people in and around Vandalia Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Vandalia Township’s civic life grade
Vandalia Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Evans Public Library District serves 11,960 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Evans Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
35K 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 Vandalia Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
Evans Public Library District, 215 South Fifth Street, Vandalia.
Good at every Evans Public Library District branch.
New in Vandalia Township? The Handbook →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 $1.27 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Vandalia Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $487K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $619K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $487K 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 1,178 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vandalia Township | Evans Public Library District | — | 56 | — graded with its twin city |
| Otego Township | Brownstown Branch Library | — | 26 | C |
| Kaskaskia Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Bear Grove Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sefton Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sharon 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.
- System-wide. Evans Public Library District serves 11,960 people in and around Vandalia Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Vandalia Township.
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 Vandalia Township
Does Vandalia Township have a public library?
Yes. Evans Public Library District, 215 South Fifth Street, serves 11,960 people in and around Vandalia Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Evans Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Vandalia Township’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 3.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Vandalia Township’s civic life grade?
Vandalia 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 Vandalia 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.