Photo: User:Visviva · CC BY-SA 4.0Chatham’s library lends 8.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Chatham Area Public Library District serves Chatham’s 17,357 residents. Last year it lent 140K print books and media and logged 85K visits.
The short version on Chatham’s library
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Chatham Area Public Library District is above the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, with three in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Chatham out-borrows every town next door
At 8.1 loans per resident, Chatham leads the four towns here. The closest is Chatham Township, at 8.1. Libraries next door ↓
A place to get online
Chatham Area Public Library District logs about 225 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 28 public computers. That’s 4.7 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Chatham’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Chatham is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #168 of 754 in Illinois. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Chatham’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
45 community nonprofits are registered in Chatham
3.1 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 (9 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.
11.5%
11.5% of Chatham’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 Chatham’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
140K 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 Chatham’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 82K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Chatham Area Public Library District serves 17,357 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 47 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 5 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
Chatham Area Public Library District, 600 East Spruce Street, Chatham.
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 $2.21 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chatham cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 8,832 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Chatham borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatham | Chatham Area Public Library District fine-free | 8.1 | 57 | B+ |
| Chatham Township | Chatham Area Public Library District fine-free | 8.1 | 57 | B+ |
| Springfield | Lincoln Library fine-free | 3.0 | 51 | B− |
| Capital Township | Lincoln Library fine-free | 3.0 | 51 | B− |
| Ball Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Woodside Township | None of its own | — | — | 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 Chatham
Does Chatham have a public library?
Yes. Chatham Area Public Library District, 600 East Spruce Street, serves Chatham’s 17,357 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chatham Area Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Chatham’s library?
It logged 4.9 visits and lent 8.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Chatham’s civic life grade?
B+ Chatham is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on civic life, #168 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 Chatham.
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.