Westville’s library logs 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Westville Public Library District serves 11,499 people in and around Westville. Last year it lent 15K print books and media and logged 9,936 visits.
The short version on Westville’s library
Westville Public Library District is used less than most libraries its size
Westville Public Library District records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $20 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Westville Public Library District offered 46 programs last year, 4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 10% of the people Westville Public Library District serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Westville Public Library District serves more than Westville
The library’s service area covers 11,499 people in and around Westville, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Westville Public Library District holds 45,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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.
What’s behind Westville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Westville is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns, #385 of 754 in Illinois. Westville is graded on two of the three inputs. Westville’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($41K–$69K) 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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Westville
3.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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.
7.0%
7.0% of Westville’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 Westville’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Westville Public Library District serves 11,499 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
15K 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 Westville’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 45K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
46 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.
Find it
Westville Public Library District, 233 South State Street, Westville.
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 $1.12 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Westville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $229K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $257K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $229K 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 1,196 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Westville ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danville Township | Danville Public Library fine-free | 2.4 | 51 | — graded with its twin city |
| Westville | Westville Public Library District | 1.3 | 45 | C+ |
| Georgetown Township | Westville Public Library District | 1.3 | 45 | C− |
| Belgium | 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 Westville
Does Westville have a public library?
Yes. Westville Public Library District, 233 South State Street, serves 11,499 people in and around Westville (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Westville Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Westville’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 1.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Westville’s civic life grade?
C+ Westville is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns on civic life, #385 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 Westville.
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.