Photo: Paltron · CC BY-SA 4.0Lowry City’s library is a branch of Saint Clair County Library, which lends more per resident than 73% of systems its size
Lowry City’s library is the Lowry City Branch, a branch of Saint Clair County Library, which serves 8,252 people and lent 53K items last year.
Lowry City’s library, in brief
Open only about 22 hours a week
The Lowry City branch keeps short hours: about 22 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
7,174 cards for 8,252 people, or 87%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 8% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 70% of similar-size libraries. 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; Lowry City’s library is a branch of Saint Clair County Library, so they cover the whole system (8,252 people), not just the Lowry City branch.
What’s behind Lowry City’s civic life grade
Lowry City 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Saint Clair County Library serves 8,252 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Saint Clair County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
53K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,124 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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.
Find it
Lowry City Branch, 406b W 4th St., Lowry City.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Saint Clair County Library branch.
New in Lowry City? 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 $3.24 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lowry City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $261K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $847K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $261K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 7,174 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Lowry City Branch is one branch of Saint Clair County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 8,252 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 Lowry City
Does Lowry City have a public library?
Yes: Lowry City Branch, 406b W 4th St., is a branch of Saint Clair County Library, which serves 8,252 people. The branch is open about 22 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Saint Clair County Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Lowry City’s library?
It logged 5.3 visits and lent 6.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Lowry City’s civic life grade?
Lowry City 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 Lowry City.
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.