Elgin’s library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Elgin Public Library serves Elgin’s 1,030 residents. Last year it lent 12K print books and media and logged 4,305 visits.
Elgin’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
1,298 cards for 1,030 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Elgin Public Library serves 1,030 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 27 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Elgin is a town of borrowers
Elgin Public Library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 90% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Elgin Public Library holds 24,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Elgin’s civic life grade
Elgin 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 →
Books and media off the shelf
12K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 24K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Elgin Public Library serves 1,030 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
20 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Elgin last year.
Find it
Elgin Public Library, 214 Main St., Elgin.
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 $3.14 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elgin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $62K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $196K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $62K 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 1,298 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Elgin
Does Elgin have a public library?
Yes. Elgin Public Library, 214 Main St., serves Elgin’s 1,030 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 27 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Elgin Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Elgin’s library?
It logged 4.2 visits and lent 11.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Elgin’s civic life grade?
Elgin 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 Elgin.
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.