Northbrook Public Library
Northbrook Public Library is a municipal public library based in Northbrook (Cook County), Illinois, serving a legal service area of 35,222 residents from a single building. Among profiled systems serving 25,000 to 49,999 residents, it ranks second for operating spending per resident, fourth for library floor space per resident and fifth for paid staff per resident.
Among the 617 profiled systems in Illinois, it ranks second for physical checkouts per resident. Against the median system of its size class, it records 3.0 times the visits per resident and 2.4 times the print volumes per resident.
Northbrook against the 964 systems of its size class
Northbrook in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 294,090
- Physical checkouts
- 755,696
- Registered users
- 20,329
- Program sessions
- 734
- Program attendance
- 27,521
- Print volumes
- 180,451
- Audio items (physical)
- 23,477
- Video items (physical)
- 23,477
- Public computers
- 37
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 3,459
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 66.4
- Operating spending
- $9.7 million
- …on books and other materials
- $876,424
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Northbrook gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $9.8 million, or $277.50 per resident. The local-government share is close to the combined share for the 617 profiled systems in Illinois. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Municipal libraries of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, one records more visits per resident than this one. None of them matches this system's checkouts per resident.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allendale Township Library | Allendale, MI | 35,384 | 1.54 | 4.39 | $13.85 |
| Welles-Turner Memorial Library | Glastonbury, CT | 35,204 | 5.07 | 8.90 | $56.58 |
| Lewiston City Public | Lewiston, ID | 35,143 | 2.23 | 3.17 | $43.56 |
| Moorpark City Library | Moorpark, CA | 35,114 | 1.56 | 2.19 | $31.87 |
| Dorothy Bramlage Public Library | Junction City, KS | 35,047 | 1.81 | 1.69 | $29.43 |
| Watertown Free Public Library | Watertown, MA | 35,022 | 9.32 | 20.19 | $112.70 |
Northbrook since FY 2019
Visits were 19% below the FY 2019 count of 365,077 (size-class median: −28%). Physical checkouts moved 17% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Northbrook programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 50% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 37 people each.
The Northbrook building
The single building covers 87,223 square feet, 2.48 square feet per resident against a median of 0.74 for the size class. It is open 66.5 hours a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northbrook Public Library | Central library | Northbrook | 66.5 | 87,223 |
Nearest in size within Illinois
- Glenside Public Library District · Glendale Heights · 35,094 residents
- Addison Public Library · Addison · 35,702 residents
- Calumet City Public Library · Calumet City · 36,033 residents
- Bartlett Public Library District · Bartlett · 36,034 residents