Jonathan Carlton House · Photo: Photo by Greg Hume (Greg5030) · CC BY-SA 3.0Petersburg’s library is a branch of Boone County Public Library District, which lends more per resident than 80% of systems its size
Petersburg’s library is the Chapin Memorial Library, a branch of Boone County Public Library District, which serves 140,496 people and lent 1.4M items last year.
What Petersburg’s library is like
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
128,857 cards for 140,496 people, or 92%. At the typical library serving 100,000+ people, it’s 41%. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 62% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
The Boone County Public Library District system ran 3,270 programs last year, about 63 a week. That’s 23 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 76,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.7 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. It’s 37% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
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; Petersburg’s library is a branch of Boone County Public Library District, so they cover the whole system (140,496 people), not just the Petersburg branch.
What’s behind Petersburg’s civic life grade
Petersburg 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 40 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Boone County Public Library District serves 140,496 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 78 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Boone County Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1.4M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
526,655 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Chapin Memorial Library, 6517 Market Street, Petersburg.
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 Boone County Public Library District branch.
New in Petersburg? 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 $2.46 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Petersburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $9.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $22M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9.1M 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 128,857 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petersburg | Chapin Memorial Library fine-free | — | 48 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Center Township | Aurora Public Library District fine-free | — | 49 | C+ |
| Aurora | Aurora Public Library District fine-free | — | 49 | C |
| Lawrenceburg Township | Lawrenceburg Public Library District fine-free | — | 59 | B− |
| Lawrenceburg | Lawrenceburg Public Library District fine-free | — | 59 | B− |
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.
- System-wide. Chapin Memorial Library is one branch of Boone County Public Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 140,496 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 Petersburg
Does Petersburg have a public library?
Yes: Chapin Memorial Library, 6517 Market Street, is a branch of Boone County Public Library District, which serves 140,496 people. The branch is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Boone County Public Library District 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 Petersburg’s library?
It logged 3.3 visits and lent 10.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Petersburg’s civic life grade?
Petersburg 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 Petersburg.
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.