Photo: Bnperdue2010 · CC BY-SA 4.0Bolingbrook’s library runs 48 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Fountaindale Public Library District serves 67,049 people in and around Bolingbrook. Last year it lent 621K print books and media and logged 276K visits.
Bolingbrook’s library, in brief
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Fountaindale Public Library District ran 3,189 programs last year, about 61 a week. That’s 48 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 81,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Bolingbrook invests in its library
Fountaindale Public Library District spends $191 per resident a year, about five times the typical $40 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 72 hours a week
Fountaindale Public Library District is open about 72 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 116 items go out. The building ↓
Bolingbrook is a town of borrowers
Fountaindale Public Library District lends 9.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 88% of similar-size libraries. Each item on the shelves went out about 2.9 times last year. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 3,189 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 22 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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.
What’s behind Bolingbrook’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bolingbrook is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns, #668 of 754 in Illinois. Bolingbrook is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Bolingbrook’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($81K–$136K) 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 →
178 community nonprofits are registered in Bolingbrook
2.4 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 (62 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 23 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.4%
5.4% of Bolingbrook’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 Bolingbrook’s residents live; 2022.
About 41 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 all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Fountaindale Public Library District serves 67,049 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 116 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
621K 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 Bolingbrook’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 217K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.9 times last year, on average.
Find it
Fountaindale Public Library District, 300 West Briarcliff Road, Bolingbrook.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bolingbrook cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $13M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $12M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $13M 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 33,404 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Bolingbrook ranks 4th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naperville | Naperville Public Library fine-free | 16.1 | 73 | A− |
| Woodridge | Woodridge Public Library fine-free | 12.5 | 70 | C |
| Lisle Township | Woodridge Public Library fine-free | 12.5 | 70 | C+ |
| Bolingbrook | Fountaindale Public Library District fine-free | 9.3 | 72 | D |
| Du Page Township | Fountaindale Public Library District fine-free | 9.3 | 72 | C− |
| Romeoville | White Oak Library District fine-free | 6.5 | 61 | D− |
| Plainfield | Plainfield Public Library District fine-free | 5.4 | 62 | C+ |
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 Bolingbrook
Does Bolingbrook have a public library?
Yes. Fountaindale Public Library District, 300 West Briarcliff Road, serves 67,049 people in and around Bolingbrook (the survey’s count) and is open about 72 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Fountaindale Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Bolingbrook’s library?
It logged 4.1 visits and lent 9.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Bolingbrook’s civic life grade?
D Bolingbrook is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns on civic life, #668 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 Bolingbrook.
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.