Photo: AlphaBeta135 · CC BY 4.0Burbank’s library runs 20 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Prairie Trails Public Library District serves Burbank’s 30,376 residents. Last year it lent 76K print books and media and logged 74K visits.
The short version on Burbank’s library
Few residents carry a card
Only 17% of the people Prairie Trails Public Library District serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
Open about 67 hours a week
Prairie Trails Public Library District is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out. The building ↓
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 Burbank’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Burbank is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns, #694 of 754 in Illinois. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($60K–$100K) 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Burbank
0.9 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 (16 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.7%
4.7% of Burbank’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 Burbank’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Prairie Trails Public Library District serves 30,376 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
76K 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 Burbank’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 99K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
About 6 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.
Find it
Prairie Trails Public Library District, 8449 South Moody Avenue, Burbank.
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 Burbank cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.7M 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 5,063 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Burbank ranks 5th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford Park | Bedford Park Public Library District fine-free | 8.2 | 66 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Oak Lawn | Oak Lawn Public Library fine-free | 6.0 | 65 | C− |
| Chicago | Chicago Public Library fine-free | 3.9 | 72 | C− |
| Bridgeview | Bridgeview Public Library fine-free | 2.8 | 48 | D |
| Burbank | Prairie Trails Public Library District fine-free | 2.5 | 67 | D |
| Stickney Township | Prairie Trails Public Library District fine-free | 2.5 | 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 Burbank
Does Burbank have a public library?
Yes. Prairie Trails Public Library District, 8449 South Moody Avenue, serves Burbank’s 30,376 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Prairie Trails Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Burbank’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 2.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Burbank’s civic life grade?
D Burbank is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns on civic life, #694 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 Burbank.
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.