Photo: 22thecrobot · CC BY-SA 4.0Zion Township’s library runs 19 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Zion-Benton Public Library District serves 42,836 people in and around Zion Township. Last year it lent 126K print books and media and logged 93K visits.
What stands out about Zion-Benton Public Library District
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Zion Township’s civic life grade
Zion 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 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Zion-Benton Public Library District serves 42,836 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 40 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Zion-Benton Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
126K 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 Zion Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
Zion-Benton Public Library District, 2400 Gabriel Avenue, Zion.
No late fees. Good at every Zion-Benton Public Library District branch.
New in Zion Township? The Handbook →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 Zion Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.9M 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 8,290 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zion Township | Zion-Benton Public Library District fine-free | — | 60 | — graded with its twin city |
| Zion | Zion-Benton Public Library District fine-free | — | 60 | D− |
| Benton Township | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Beach Park | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Wadsworth | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Newport Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Winthrop Harbor | 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.
- Digital loans not reported. Illinois libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Zion-Benton Public Library District serves 42,836 people in and around Zion Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Zion Township.
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 Zion Township
Does Zion Township have a public library?
Yes. Zion-Benton Public Library District, 2400 Gabriel Avenue, serves 42,836 people in and around Zion Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Zion-Benton Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Zion Township’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 2.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Zion Township’s civic life grade?
Zion 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 Zion 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.