Chillicothe Commercial Historic District · Photo: John Zupez · CC BY-SA 3.0Chillicothe’s library runs 56 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Livingston County Library serves 14,557 people in and around Chillicothe from 2 locations. Last year it lent 135K books, movies and e-books and logged 44K visits.
Chillicothe’s library, in brief
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
49% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 47%. What your card is worth ↓
Programs are almost all for children
82% of the 818 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 9.7 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Livingston County Library ran 818 programs last year, about 16 a week. That’s 56 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 20,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Livingston County Library spends $89 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. 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; Livingston County Library serves 14,557 people in and around Chillicothe, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Chillicothe’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Chillicothe is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #1 of 229 in Missouri. Chillicothe is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Chillicothe near the top nationally; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
71 community nonprofits are registered in Chillicothe
8.0 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 (25 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.9%
13.9% of Chillicothe’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 9.3% in the typical Missouri 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 Chillicothe’s residents live; 2022.
About 13 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 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Livingston County Library serves 14,557 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Livingston County Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
135K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
28,471 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Chillicothe
Livingston County Library, 450 Locust St., Chillicothe.
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 Livingston County Library branch.
New in Chillicothe? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Livingston County Library branches in Chillicothe
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.75 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chillicothe cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.3M 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 9,160 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chillicothe | Livingston County Library fine-free | — | 55 | A+ |
| Chillicothe Township | Livingston County Library fine-free | — | 55 | — graded with its twin city |
| Rich Hill Township | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
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. Livingston County Library serves 14,557 people in and around Chillicothe, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Chillicothe.
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 Chillicothe
Does Chillicothe have a public library?
Yes. Livingston County Library, 450 Locust St., serves 14,557 people in and around Chillicothe (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Livingston County 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 Chillicothe’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 9.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Chillicothe’s civic life grade?
A+ Chillicothe is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on civic life, #1 of 229 in Missouri. 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 Chillicothe.
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.