Berkeley’s library runs 84 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Berkeley Public Library serves Berkeley’s 5,338 residents. Last year it lent 26K print books and media and logged 28K visits.
What stands out about Berkeley’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Berkeley’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Berkeley is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns, #455 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 ($64K–$107K) 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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Berkeley
3.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.0%
4.0% of Berkeley’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 Berkeley’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Berkeley Public Library serves 5,338 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
26K 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 Berkeley’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 28K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
Find it
Berkeley Public Library, 1637 North Taft Avenue, Berkeley.
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 $1.10 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Berkeley cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $449K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $493K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $449K 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 1,986 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Berkeley ranks 4th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| York Township | Elmhurst Public Library fine-free | 19.1 | 70 | B− |
| Elmhurst | Elmhurst Public Library fine-free | 19.1 | 70 | A− |
| Proviso Township | Forest Park Public Library fine-free | 7.2 | 69 | C− |
| Berkeley | Berkeley Public Library fine-free | 4.8 | 54 | C+ |
| Hillside | Hillside Public Library fine-free | 2.7 | 58 | C+ |
| Melrose Park | Melrose Park Public Library fine-free | 1.0 | 42 | D− |
| Bellwood | Bellwood Public Library fine-free | 0.9 | 58 | D |
| Northlake | Northlake Public Library District fine-free | — | 67 | 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.
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 Berkeley
Does Berkeley have a public library?
Yes. Berkeley Public Library, 1637 North Taft Avenue, serves Berkeley’s 5,338 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Berkeley Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Berkeley’s library?
It logged 5.3 visits and lent 4.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Berkeley’s civic life grade?
C+ Berkeley is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns on civic life, #455 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 Berkeley.
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.