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Demotte Branch · part of Jasper County Public Library

DeMotte’s library is a branch of Jasper County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 79% of systems its size

DeMotte’s library is the Demotte Branch, a branch of Jasper County Public Library, which serves 30,993 people and lent 288K items last year.

901 Birch Street SW, Demotte 46310 · about 56 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than two of the three inputs
Borrowed a year
288K
9.3 per resident
Visits a year
123K
4 per resident · Above typical (2.6)
Programs & events
760
about 15 a week · 15K attended
Cardholders
53%
16,496 cards
Open
56 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What DeMotte’s library is like

Above typical on every measure

Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Jasper County Public Library system is above the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, with seven in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓

A well-funded system

The Jasper County Public Library system spends $82 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (90%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓

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; DeMotte’s library is a branch of Jasper County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (30,993 people), not just the DeMotte branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind DeMotte’s civic life grade

DeMotte isn’t graded on civic life: its library is a branch of Jasper County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of DeMotte’s overall grade.

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 →

Places to belong

DeMotte has few registered community nonprofits

0.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

★ What stands out · What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.79 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average DeMotte cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$82 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.6M.

Local taxes 90%State 6%Gifts & other 4%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.6M 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 16,496 cardholders ÷ 12.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 4 visits · typical 2.6Higher than 75%
Borrowing per resident 7.2 print items · typical 3.7Higher than 79%
Digital borrowing 2 e-items · typical 1.2Higher than 73%
Kids’ borrowing 3 kids’ items · typical 1.7Higher than 74%
Program attendance 0.5 attendees · typical 0.3Higher than 71%
Programs offered 24.5 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Higher than 79%
Cardholders 53% of residents · typical 39%Higher than 72%
Spending $82 per resident · typical $40Higher than 85%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Jasper County Public Library serves 30,993 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 33 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Jasper County Public Library system. The library’s own count.

123K
visits
4 per resident
288K
loans, print + digital
9.3 per resident
760
programs & events
15K attended
16K
library cards
53% of people served
Every open hour33items borrowed
Every week290people at a program
Every day97Wi-Fi sessions
37 staff (full-time equivalent)13 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

288K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

288Kloans
Books & media (adults) 46%Kids’ books & media 32%E-books, audio & streaming 22%
From your couch

63,503 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 7 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in DeMotte →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5222
Ages 6–11153
Teens34
Adults257
All ages94
Little ones
4.3

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

92K
kids’ books & media borrowed
15K
people at programs
760
programs
The building

Find it

Demotte Branch, 901 Birch Street SW, Demotte.

56
hours open a week
17,300
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Jasper County Public Library branch.

New in DeMotte? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Demotte Branch is one branch of Jasper County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 30,993 people it serves.

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 DeMotte

Does DeMotte have a public library?

Yes: Demotte Branch, 901 Birch Street SW, is a branch of Jasper County Public Library, which serves 30,993 people. The branch is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Jasper County Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?

Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is DeMotte’s library?

It logged 4.0 visits and lent 9.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is DeMotte’s civic life grade?

DeMotte isn’t graded on civic life: its library is a branch of Jasper County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in DeMotte.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.