Robert Allerton Estate · Photo: D. Finnigan · CC BY-SA 3.0Willow Branch Township’s library runs 122 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Willow Branch Township Library serves Willow Branch Township’s 966 residents. Last year it lent 1,674 print books and media and logged 1,473 visits.
Willow Branch Township’s library, in brief
Every town next door borrows more
Willow Branch Township’s library lends 1.7 items per resident. Each of the four neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Monticello Township at 11. Libraries next door ↓
Willow Branch Township Library is used less than most libraries its size
Willow Branch Township Library records 1.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Willow Branch Township Library serves 966 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 25 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 19% of the people Willow Branch Township Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
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.
What’s behind Willow Branch Township’s civic life grade
Willow Branch 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Willow Branch Township Library serves 966 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,674 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 Willow Branch Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 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
Willow Branch Township Library, 330 North Eldon Street, Cisco.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Willow Branch Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $62K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $35K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $62K 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 182 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Willow Branch Township ranks 5th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monticello Township | Allerton Public Library District fine-free | 11.2 | 53 | — graded with its twin city |
| Friends Creek Township | Argenta Branch Library | 6.3 | 39 | B− |
| Nixon Township | Weldon Public Library District fine-free | 4.7 | 30 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Goose Creek Township | Goose Creek Township Carnegie Library | 2.1 | 27 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Willow Branch Township | Willow Branch Township Library | 1.7 | 25 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Cerro Gordo Township | Hope Welty Public Library District | — | 33 | A |
| Bement Township | Bement Public Library District | — | 30 | — graded with its twin city |
| Oakley 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Willow Branch Township Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 Willow Branch Township
Does Willow Branch Township have a public library?
Yes. Willow Branch Township Library, 330 North Eldon Street, serves Willow Branch Township’s 966 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Willow Branch Township Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Willow Branch Township’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 1.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Willow Branch Township’s civic life grade?
Willow Branch 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 Willow Branch 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.