Photo: LonelyBeacon · CC BY-SA 3.0Alsip’s library is a branch of Alsip-Merrionette Park Public Library District, which lends less per resident than 51% of systems its size
Alsip’s library is the Alsip-Merrionette Park Library District, a branch of Alsip-Merrionette Park Public Library District, which serves 21,796 people and lent 83K items last year.
Alsip’s library, in brief
Open about 68 hours a week
The Alsip branch is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
A well-funded system
The Alsip-Merrionette Park Public Library District system spends $144 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (89%) comes from local taxes. 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; Alsip’s library is a branch of Alsip-Merrionette Park Public Library District, so they cover the whole system (21,796 people), not just the Alsip branch.
What’s behind Alsip’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Alsip is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns, #628 of 754 in Illinois. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($50K–$83K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
38 community nonprofits are registered in Alsip
2.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.2%
4.2% of Alsip’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.1% in the typical Illinois town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Alsip’s residents live; 2022.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Alsip cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $3.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.1M 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 9,569 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Alsip-Merrionette Park Public Library District serves 21,796 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Alsip-Merrionette Park Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
83K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Alsip’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 6 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
Alsip-Merrionette Park Library District, 11960 South Pulaski Road, Alsip.
No late fees. Good at every Alsip-Merrionette Park Public Library District branch.
New in Alsip? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Lawn | Oak Lawn Public Library fine-free | 6.0 | 65 | C− |
| Chicago | Chicago Public Library fine-free | 3.9 | 72 | C− |
| Blue Island | Blue Island Public Library fine-free | 2.5 | 64 | C− |
| Alsip | Alsip-Merrionette Park Library District fine-free | — | 68 | C− |
| Crestwood | Crestwood Public Library District | — | 59 | C+ |
| Worth Township | Alsip-Merrionette Park Library District fine-free | — | 68 | D |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. Illinois libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Alsip-Merrionette Park Library District is one branch of Alsip-Merrionette Park Public Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 21,796 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 Alsip
Does Alsip have a public library?
Yes: Alsip-Merrionette Park Library District, 11960 South Pulaski Road, is a branch of Alsip-Merrionette Park Public Library District, which serves 21,796 people. The branch is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Alsip-Merrionette Park Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Alsip’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 3.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Alsip’s civic life grade?
C− Alsip is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns on civic life, #628 of 754 in Illinois. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Alsip.
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.