Photo: 22thecrobot · CC BY-SA 4.0Zion’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. 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’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Zion is ahead of 3% of U.S. towns, #732 of 754 in Illinois. Zion is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Zion’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($47K–$79K) 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 →
48 community nonprofits are registered in Zion
2.0 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 (39 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.2%
3.2% of Zion’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 Zion’s residents live; 2022.
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’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? 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 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 | Zion-Benton Public Library District fine-free | — | 60 | D− |
| Zion Township | Zion-Benton Public Library District fine-free | — | 60 | — graded with its twin city |
| 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, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Zion.
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
Does Zion have a public library?
Yes. Zion-Benton Public Library District, 2400 Gabriel Avenue, serves 42,836 people in and around Zion (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’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’s civic life grade?
D− Zion is ahead of 3% of U.S. towns on civic life, #732 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 Zion.
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.