librarysystems

Public library systems in Illinois

617 profiled systems768 library buildings20 bookmobilesFY 2024

The 617 profiled public library systems in Illinois served 11.7 million residents in FY 2024 and logged 3.45 visits and 6.36 physical checkouts per resident, which ranks 14th and 7th among the 50 states and DC. Operating spending came to $77.19 per resident (5th nationally). Local government supplied 87% of operating revenue, against 85% for all profiled systems nationwide, and the state government 6%.

The largest system is Chicago Public Library, serving 2,746,388 residents; 9 systems serve 100,000 or more. At the end of the year, 58% of the state's profiled systems charged no overdue fines on print items. The most common legal form is the library district (335 systems).

Compare libraries in Illinois

Visits per resident, system by system

Each dot is one Illinois system, grouped by the size of the population it serves; darker dots have their own profile page. The gold tick marks the national median for that size class.

0.250.5124816321 million+100k–250k50k–100k25k–50k10k–25k5k–10k2.5k–5k1k–2.5kunder 1kvisits per resident (log scale)
0.5124816321 million+100k–250k50k–100k25k–50k10k–25k5k–10k2.5k–5k1k–2.5kunder 1kvisits per resident (log scale)

The 20 largest systems

SystemCityResidentsVisits per residentCheckouts per residentSpending per resident
Chicago Public LibraryChicago2,746,3881.773.86$46.01
Aurora Public Library DistrictAurora180,5423.205.10$73.00
Joliet Public LibraryJoliet150,3621.783.48$39.95
Gail Borden Public Library DistrictElgin149,9074.265.66$114.78
Naperville Public LibraryNaperville149,5408.6316.14$111.13
Rockford Public LibraryRockford148,6552.222.99$54.44
Schaumburg Township District LibrarySchaumburg130,3454.1612.89$115.96
Lincoln LibrarySpringfield114,3941.523.05$47.13
Peoria Public LibraryPeoria113,1502.594.75$61.43
Palatine Public Library DistrictPalatine89,3954.0311.33$93.11
Waukegan Public LibraryWaukegan89,3211.601.50$52.60
Champaign Public LibraryChampaign88,3027.7014.12$102.50
Cicero Public LibraryCicero85,2680.230.79$20.97
Plainfield Public Library DistrictPlainfield79,0631.565.43$49.68
Bloomington Public LibraryBloomington78,6801.888.96$67.89
Evanston Public LibraryEvanston78,1105.298.95$102.87
Arlington Heights Memorial LibraryArlington Heights77,6768.5717.37$188.92
White Oak Library DistrictRomeoville76,8502.795.53$67.46
Fox River Valley Public Library DistrictEast Dundee71,5301.914.10$58.84
Decatur Public LibraryDecatur70,5222.263.10$66.36

Highest rates among systems serving 5,000 or more

Of the state's profiled systems, 323 serve at least 5,000 residents.

Visits per resident

  1. North Riverside Public Library District · 11.92
  2. Eureka Public Library District · 11.37
  3. Elk Grove Village Public Library · 10.26
  4. Lagrange Public Library · 10.14
  5. Elmhurst Public Library · 10.06

Checkouts per resident

  1. Wilmette Public Library District · 23.57
  2. Northbrook Public Library · 21.46
  3. Skokie Public Library · 21.32
  4. Eureka Public Library District · 20.00
  5. Glen Ellyn Public Library · 19.34

Spending per resident

  1. Highwood Public Library · $307.63
  2. Glencoe Public Library · $303.66
  3. Northbrook Public Library · $276.51
  4. Elk Grove Village Public Library · $260.68
  5. Deerfield Public Library · $253.14

Revenue mix

Combined operating revenue of $1.1 billion across the 617 systems that reported every revenue source.

Illinois87%All profiled systems, US85%
Illinois87%All profiled systems, US85%
  • Local government
  • State
  • Federal
  • Other

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