librarysystems

Chicago Public Library

Chicago, IllinoisCook CountyMunicipal libraryLarge cityFiscal year January 2023 to December 2023

Chicago Public Library is a municipal public library system based in Chicago (Cook County), Illinois, serving a legal service area of 2,746,388 residents through 81 library buildings. Of all systems profiled nationwide, it ranks third for number of library buildings, third for public computers, fourth for physical checkouts and fourth for print volumes.

Among the 613 profiled systems in Illinois, it ranks first for program attendance. Among profiled systems serving 1 million or more residents, it ranks third for print volumes per resident, sixth for public computers per resident and seventh for library floor space per resident and records the largest gain in physical checkouts since FY 2019, but records the tenth-steepest decline in visits since FY 2019.

Compare with similar-size systemsSystems serving 1 million or more

Chicago against the 35 systems of its size class

size-class median (50th percentile) · spine height = percentile within the class1.77Visitsper resident44th percentile3.86Checkoutsper resident67th percentile$46.01Spendingper resident61st percentile1.78Print volumesper resident93rd percentile148Program visitsper 1,000 people34th percentile10.6Computersper 10,000 people84th percentile50.0Open hoursper outlet a week68th percentile3.7Staff (FTE)per 10,000 people64th percentile
Gold tick: size-class medianVisits per resident1.7744th pct.Checkouts per resident3.8667th pct.Spending per resident$46.0161st pct.Print volumes per resident1.7893rd pct.Program visits per 1,000 people14834th pct.Computers per 10,000 people10.684th pct.Open hours per outlet a week50.068th pct.Staff (FTE) per 10,000 people3.764th pct.

How the measures and percentiles are calculated

Chicago, building by building

The 81 buildings cover 1,839,201 square feet in total, 0.67 square feet per resident against a median of 0.39 for the size class. The largest building is Chicago Public Library at 756,000 square feet; the smallest is Popular Library at Water Works at 273. The longest hours, 72.4 a week, are shared by four buildings.

BuildingTypeTownHours a weekFloor area, sq ft
Chicago Public LibraryCentral libraryChicago72.4756,000
Albany Park BranchBranchChicago5010,555
Altgeld BranchBranchChicago504,000
Archer Heights BranchBranchChicago56.514,000
Austin BranchBranchChicago5015,035
Austin-Irving BranchBranchChicago66.715,500
Avalon BranchBranchChicago5014,000
Back of the Yards BranchBranchChicago509,000
Bessie Coleman BranchBranchChicago5013,000
Beverly BranchBranchChicago5011,303
Bezazian BranchBranchChicago5014,125
Blackstone BranchBranchChicago5013,794
Brainerd BranchBranchChicago507,000
Brighton Park BranchBranchChicago5214,000
Bucktown/Wicker Park Branch LibraryBranchChicago5015,500
Budlong Woods BranchBranchChicago5014,000
Canaryville BranchBranchChicago505,000
Chicago Bee BranchBranchChicago507,211
Chicago Lawn BranchBranchChicago5010,789
Chinatown BranchBranchChicago5016,000
Clearing BranchBranchChicago5013,700
Douglass BranchBranchChicago56.520,830
DunningBranchChicago508,871
Edgebrook BranchBranchChicago5015,500
Edgewater BranchBranchChicago5011,000
Gage Park BranchBranchChicago501,650
Galewood-Mont Clare BranchBranchChicago–575
Garfield Ridge BranchBranchChicago507,725
Greater Grand CrossingBranchChicago508,871
Hall BranchBranchChicago5011,632
Hegewisch BranchBranchChicago5012,200
Humboldt Park BranchBranchChicago5013,000
Independence BranchBranchChicago5012,800
Jefferson Park BranchBranchChicago5011,000
Jeffery Manor BranchBranchChicago507,000
John Merlo BranchBranchChicago5019,000
Kelly BranchBranchChicago5015,000
Legler BranchBranchChicago72.436,075
Lincoln Belmont BranchBranchChicago5014,000
Lincoln Park BranchBranchChicago5014,000
Little ItalyBranchChicago508,000
Little VillageBranchChicago5016,295
Logan Square BranchBranchChicago5014,000
Mabel Manning BranchBranchChicago5013,000
Martin Luther King, Jr. BranchBranchChicago509,162
Mayfair BranchBranchChicago507,300
McKinley Park BranchBranchChicago5012,800
Mount Greenwood BranchBranchChicago54.212,700
Near North BranchBranchChicago5013,600
North Austin BranchBranchChicago509,300
North Pulaski BranchBranchChicago506,200
Northtown BranchBranchChicago5016,300
Oriole Park BranchBranchChicago5014,000
Popular Library at Water WorksBranchChicago50273
Portage-Cragin BranchBranchChicago5014,000
Pullman BranchBranchChicago5011,013
Richard J. Daley BranchBranchChicago5011,130
Richard M. Daley BranchBranchChicago5016,295
Roden BranchBranchChicago5014,000
Rogers Park BranchBranchChicago5015,500
Rudy Lozano BranchBranchChicago5018,000
Scottsdale BranchBranchChicago5012,500
Sherman Park BranchBranchChicago506,700
South Chicago BranchBranchChicago5014,000
South Shore BranchBranchChicago5013,336
Sulzer Regional LibraryBranchChicago72.465,000
Thurgood Marshall BranchBranchChicago5013,000
Toman BranchBranchChicago5015,942
Uptown BranchBranchChicago5012,114
Vodak/East Side BranchBranchChicago5014,000
Walker BranchBranchChicago5011,900
West Belmont BranchBranchChicago5011,000
West Chicago Avenue BranchBranchChicago507,000
West Englewood BranchBranchChicago56.57,000
West Lawn BranchBranchChicago5012,000
West Loop BranchBranchChicago5017,000
West Pullman BranchBranchChicago5014,000
West Town BranchBranchChicago5013,000
Whitney M. Young, Jr. BranchBranchChicago5014,000
Woodson Regional LibraryBranchChicago72.465,000
Wrightwood-Ashburn BranchBranchChicago5013,600

A dash marks a value not reported for FY 2024.

Chicago in numbers, FY 2024

Visits
4,871,365
Physical checkouts
10,607,235
Registered users
663,208
Program sessions
25,213
Program attendance
406,372
Print volumes
4,901,210
Audio items (physical)
174,668
Video items (physical)
234,552
Public computers
2,919
Public service hours, all outlets
210,774
Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
1,008.1
Operating spending
$126 million
…on books and other materials
$10.3 million
Overdue fines on print items
not charged

Where Chicago gets its operating money

Operating revenue came to $125 million, or $45.37 per resident. The local-government share sits 4 percentage points above the combined share for the 617 profiled systems in Illinois.

This system92%All profiled systems in Illinois87%
This system92%All profiled systems in Illinois87%
  • Local government
  • State
  • Federal
  • Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)

Chicago since FY 2019

Visits were 42% below the FY 2019 count of 8.5 million (size-class median: −34%). Physical checkouts moved 17% up over the same span.

FY 2019 = 100406080100120FY 2019FY 2023FY 2024
FY 2019 = 100406080100120FY 2019FY 2023FY 2024
  • Visits
  • Physical checkouts

Who comes to Chicago programs

Programs for children up to age 11 drew 60% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 16 people each.

Children 0–11244,507Young adults 12–1853,111Adults 19+75,045General interest33,709
Children 0–11244,507Young adults 12–1853,111Adults 19+75,045General interest33,709

Municipal libraries of similar size in other states

Of these six systems, one records more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to San Diego Public Library in California.

SystemBased inResidentsVisits per residentCheckouts per residentSpending per resident
Los Angeles Public LibraryLos Angeles, CA3,814,3181.512.01$59.09
Houston Public LibraryHouston, TX2,314,1570.921.41$21.39
San Antonio Public LibrarySan Antonio, TX1,868,0521.462.68$28.29
Phoenix Public LibraryPhoenix, AZ1,697,6961.252.86$30.31
San Diego Public LibrarySan Diego, CA1,385,3793.653.87$54.01
Dallas Public LibraryDallas, TX1,302,8680.363.01$32.59

Nearest in size within Illinois

  • Aurora Public Library District · Aurora · 180,542 residents
  • Joliet Public Library · Joliet · 150,362 residents
  • Gail Borden Public Library District · Elgin · 149,907 residents
  • Naperville Public Library · Naperville · 149,540 residents

All profiled systems in Illinois