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Warren Township Public Library

Warren’s library lends 4.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size

Warren Township Public Library serves 1,483 people in and around Warren. Last year it lent 7,196 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,300 visits.

210 Burnett Avenue, Warren 61087 · about 24 hours a week
ACivic lifeAhead of 94% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
7,196
4.9 per resident
Visits a year
4,300
2.9 per resident · Below typical (3.5)
Programs & events
42
about 1 a week · 899 attended
Cardholders
13%
193 cards
Open
24 hrs
a week
In brief

Warren’s library, in brief

A small-town library

Warren Township Public Library serves 1,483 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 24 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓

Few residents carry a card

Only 13% of the people Warren Township Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓

Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf

Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Warren’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Warren is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns. Warren is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.

A
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Warren’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 94%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $57K–$95K (9,258)Ahead of 93%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Warren is small (1,275 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

9 community nonprofits are registered in Warren

6.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.72 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans32.15 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services21.43 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.72 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.72 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.72 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

11.2%

11.2% of Warren’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 Warren’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.9 visits · typical 3.5Lower than 59%
Borrowing per resident 4.9 print items · typical 3.9Higher than 60%
Digital borrowing 0 e-items · typical 1Bottom 10%
Kids’ borrowing 1.3 kids’ items · typical 1.4Lower than 52%
Program attendance 0.6 attendees · typical 0.7Lower than 54%
Programs offered 28.3 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Lower than 71%
Cardholders 13% of residents · typical 54%Bottom 10%
Spending $57 per resident · typical $54Higher than 55%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Warren Township Public Library serves 1,483 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

4,300
visits
2.9 per resident
7,196
loans, print + digital
4.9 per resident
42
programs & events
899 attended
193
library cards
13% of people served
Every open hour6items borrowed
Every week17people at a program
Every day8Wi-Fi sessions
2 staff (full-time equivalent)5 public computers14K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

7,196 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

7,196loans
Books & media (adults) 74%Kids’ books & media 26%E-books, audio & streaming 0%
How hard the shelves work
0.5×

Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.

Kids & programs

42 programs a year

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

Schools in Warren →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–50
Ages 6–1134
Teens4
Adults4
All ages0
1,894
kids’ books & media borrowed
899
people at programs
42
programs
The building

Find it

Warren Township Public Library, 210 Burnett Avenue, Warren.

24
hours open a week
3,272
square feet
14K
books & media
With a card

Ask at the desk about getting a card.

New in Warren? 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 $1.53 worth

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

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
2
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
1
Your card saves you about
$588
a year at retail prices · $49 a month

Who pays for it
$57 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $85K.

Local taxes 93%State 4%Gifts & other 3%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $130K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $85K 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 193 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.

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 Warren

Does Warren have a public library?

Yes. Warren Township Public Library, 210 Burnett Avenue, serves 1,483 people in and around Warren (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Warren Township Public Library fine-free?

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

How busy is Warren’s library?

It logged 2.9 visits and lent 4.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Warren’s civic life grade?

A Warren is ahead of 94% 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 Warren.

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.