Benton Township’s library lends 8.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Effingham Community Library serves 484 people in and around Benton Township. Last year it lent 4,646 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,772 visits.
The short version on Benton Township’s library
Programs are almost all for children
85% of the 72 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 34 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Effingham Community Library serves 484 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 28 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 ↓
Kansas pays a big share
36% of the budget comes from the state, and 57% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 54% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
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 Benton Township’s civic life grade
Benton 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 →
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Effingham Community Library serves 484 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
4,646 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 8,563 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
533 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Effingham Community Library, 414 Main Street, Effingham.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Benton Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.97 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Benton Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $39K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $77K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $39K 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 356 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Township | Effingham Community Library fine-free | 9.6 | 28 | — graded with its twin city |
| Norton Township | Nortonville Public Library fine-free | 6.4 | 32 | — graded with its twin city |
| Kapioma Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Center Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Grasshopper Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lancaster 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Benton Township
Does Benton Township have a public library?
Yes. Effingham Community Library, 414 Main Street, serves 484 people in and around Benton Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Effingham Community 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 Benton Township’s library?
It logged 5.7 visits and lent 9.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Benton Township’s civic life grade?
Benton 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 Benton 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.