Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 4.0Mattoon’s library is a branch of Shawano County Library, which lends more per resident than 52% of systems its size
Mattoon’s library is the Mattoon Branch, a branch of Shawano County Library, which serves 41,111 people and lent 204K items last year.
Mattoon’s library, in brief
Open only about 8 hours a week
The Mattoon branch keeps short hours: about 8 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
36% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 64%. 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; Mattoon’s library is a branch of Shawano County Library, so they cover the whole system (41,111 people), not just the Mattoon branch.
What’s behind Mattoon’s civic life grade
Mattoon 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 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Shawano County Library serves 41,111 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Shawano County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
204K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
42,160 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 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
Mattoon Branch, 311 Slate Ave., Mattoon.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Shawano County Library branch.
New in Mattoon? 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 $3.52 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mattoon cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $905K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $905K 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 11,517 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Mattoon Branch is one branch of Shawano County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 41,111 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 Mattoon
Does Mattoon have a public library?
Yes: Mattoon Branch, 311 Slate Ave., is a branch of Shawano County Library, which serves 41,111 people. The branch is open about 8 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Shawano 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 Mattoon’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 5.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Mattoon’s civic life grade?
Mattoon 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 Mattoon.
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.