Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0Wood River Township’s library runs 509 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Roxana Public Library District serves 1,476 people in and around Wood River Township. Last year it lent 14K print books and media and logged 28K visits.
The short version on Wood River Township’s library
Eight times the programs of a typical library its size
Roxana Public Library District ran 752 programs last year, about 14 a week. That’s 509 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Wood River Township uses its library more than almost any town its size
Roxana Public Library District logs 19 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 9.7 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 86% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 17% of the people Roxana Public Library District serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
Wood River Township invests in its library
Roxana Public Library District spends $256 per resident a year, about five times the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (85%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
A place to get online
Roxana Public Library District logs about 91 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 12 public computers. That’s 23 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Wood River Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Wood River Township is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #494 of 754 in Illinois. Wood River Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Wood River Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($47K–$78K) 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 →
66 community nonprofits are registered in Wood River Township
2.2 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 (35 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.
8.2%
8.2% of Wood River 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 Wood River Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 5 kids’ programs 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 5 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Roxana Public Library District serves 1,476 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
14K 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 Wood River Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
4 places to borrow in Wood River Township
Roxana Public Library District, 200 North Central Avenue, Roxana.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Wood River Township
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wood River Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $377K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $342K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $377K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
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 247 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Wood River Township borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood River Township | Roxana Public Library District fine-free | 9.7 | 55 | C |
| Roxana | Roxana Public Library District fine-free | 9.7 | 55 | B+ |
| East Alton | East Alton Public Library District fine-free | 1.9 | 46 | C+ |
| Alton | Hayner Public Library District | — | 46 | B+ |
| Alton Township | Hayner Public Library District | — | 46 | — graded with its twin city |
| Fort Russell Township | Bethalto Public Library District | — | 47 | C |
| Bethalto | Bethalto Public Library District | — | 47 | C+ |
| Foster Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| West Alton | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Chouteau Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
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 count everyone. Wood River Township’s 28,329 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- 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 Wood River Township
Does Wood River Township have a public library?
Yes. Roxana Public Library District, 200 North Central Avenue, serves 1,476 people in and around Wood River Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Roxana Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Wood River Township’s library?
It logged 19.2 visits and lent 9.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Wood River Township’s civic life grade?
C Wood River Township is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on civic life, #494 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 Wood River 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.