Aggergaard Manor · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Irene’s library lends 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Irene School/Community Library serves 2,046 people in and around Irene. Last year it lent 1,918 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,272 visits.
Irene’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Irene School/Community Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on seven. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Irene School/Community Library offered 20 programs last year, 9.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Irene School/Community Library lends 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, fewer than 94% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. 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; Irene School/Community Library serves 2,046 people in and around Irene, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Irene’s civic life grade
Irene 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Irene School/Community Library serves 2,046 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Irene School/Community Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,918 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
356 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
20 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Irene School/Community Library, 130 E State St., Irene.
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 Irene School/Community Library branch.
New in Irene? 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 $1.03 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Irene cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $45K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $46K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $45K 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 483 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irene | Irene School/Community Library fine-free | — | 36 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Turkey Valley Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Daneville Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Star Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Marindahl 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.
- System-wide. Irene School/Community Library serves 2,046 people in and around Irene, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Irene.
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 Irene
Does Irene have a public library?
Yes. Irene School/Community Library, 130 E State St., serves 2,046 people in and around Irene (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Irene School/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 Irene’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 0.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Irene’s civic life grade?
Irene 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 Irene.
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.