Venice Township’s library logs 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Madison Public Library serves 3,171 people in and around Venice Township. Last year it lent 1,148 print books and media and logged 3,887 visits.
What Venice Township’s library is like
Madison Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Madison Public Library records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. How it compares ↓
Illinois pays a big share
62% of the budget comes from the state, and 34% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Madison Public Library offered 11 programs last year, 3.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Madison Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. Three of the four libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
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 Venice Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Venice Township is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns, #719 of 754 in Illinois. Venice Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Venice Township’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($33K–$55K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Venice Township
2.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (15 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.3%
2.3% of Venice 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 Venice Township’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Madison Public Library serves 3,171 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
A year at Madison Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,148 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 Venice Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
11 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.
2 places to borrow in Venice Township
Madison Public Library, 1700 Fifth Street, Madison.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Venice Township
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Venice Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $99K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $20K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $99K 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 133 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Venice Township ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | Central Library fine-free | 8.6 | 64 | A− |
| Venice Township | Madison Public Library | 0.4 | 34 | D− |
| Madison | Madison Public Library | 0.4 | 34 | D |
| Granite City Township | Six Mile Regional Library District fine-free | — | 51 | — graded with its twin city |
| Granite City | Six Mile Regional Library District fine-free | — | 51 | D |
| Nameoki Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Chouteau Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Stites 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 Venice Township
Does Venice Township have a public library?
Yes. Madison Public Library, 1700 Fifth Street, serves 3,171 people in and around Venice Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Madison Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Venice Township’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 0.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Venice Township’s civic life grade?
D− Venice Township is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns on civic life, #719 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 Venice 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.