White Hall Foundry · Photo: Boscophotos · CC BY-SA 3.0White Hall’s library runs 47 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
White Hall Township Library serves 2,557 people in and around White Hall. Last year it lent 3,319 books, movies and e-books and logged 5,100 visits.
The short version on White Hall’s library
Few residents carry a card
Only 9% of the people White Hall Township Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
54% of the 119 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 55 were for children. 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.
What’s behind White Hall’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, White Hall is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. White Hall is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; White Hall’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in White Hall
3.1 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
28.1%
28.1% of White Hall’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 White Hall’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
White Hall Township Library serves 2,557 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3,319 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
About 1 kids’ program a week
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
White Hall Township Library, 119 East Sherman Street, White Hall.
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 $1.40 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average White Hall cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $50K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $70K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $50K 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 236 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 White Hall
Does White Hall have a public library?
Yes. White Hall Township Library, 119 East Sherman Street, serves 2,557 people in and around White Hall (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is White Hall Township Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is White Hall’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 1.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is White Hall’s civic life grade?
A− White Hall is ahead of 78% 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 White Hall.
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.