Galesburg’s library is a branch of Galesburg-Charleston Memorial District Library, which lends less per resident than 83% of systems its size
Galesburg’s library is the Galesburg Memorial Library, a branch of Galesburg-Charleston Memorial District Library, which serves 9,518 people and lent 14K items last year.
What Galesburg’s library is like
The Galesburg-Charleston Memorial District Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Galesburg-Charleston Memorial District Library system records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $19 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 9% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Galesburg’s library is a branch of Galesburg-Charleston Memorial District Library, so they cover the whole system (9,518 people), not just the Galesburg branch.
What’s behind Galesburg’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Galesburg is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns. Galesburg is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Galesburg’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($39K–$65K) 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Galesburg
2.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.3%
9.3% of Galesburg’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 12.4% in the typical Michigan 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 Galesburg’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Galesburg-Charleston Memorial District Library serves 9,518 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Galesburg-Charleston Memorial District Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
14K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Galesburg Memorial Library, 188 East Michigan Avenue, Galesburg.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Galesburg-Charleston Memorial District Library branch.
New in Galesburg? 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 $1.34 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Galesburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $181K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $243K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $181K 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 830 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comstock Township | Comstock Township Library fine-free | 7.1 | 57 | C |
| Galesburg | Galesburg Memorial Library fine-free | — | 29 | C+ |
| Charleston Township | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Galesburg Memorial Library is one branch of Galesburg-Charleston Memorial District Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 9,518 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 Galesburg
Does Galesburg have a public library?
Yes: Galesburg Memorial Library, 188 East Michigan Avenue, is a branch of Galesburg-Charleston Memorial District Library, which serves 9,518 people. The branch is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Galesburg-Charleston Memorial District 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 Galesburg’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 1.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Galesburg’s civic life grade?
C+ Galesburg is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Galesburg.
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.