Cortland’s library runs 110 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Cortland Community Library serves Cortland’s 4,398 residents. Last year it lent 31K print books and media and logged 32K visits.
The short version on Cortland’s library
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Cortland Community Library ran 483 programs last year, about 9 a week. That’s 110 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 16% of the people Cortland Community Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Open about 64 hours a week
Cortland Community Library is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year. 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 Cortland’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Cortland is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #217 of 754 in Illinois. Library visits hold the grade up; Cortland’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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Cortland
2.4 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.3%
9.3% of Cortland’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 Cortland’s residents live; 2022.
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.
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.
Cortland Community Library serves 4,398 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
31K 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 Cortland’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 27K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
Find it
Cortland Community Library, 63 South Somonauk Road, Cortland.
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 $2.03 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cortland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $284K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $575K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $284K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 703 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cortland | Cortland Community Library | 7.0 | 64 | B+ |
| DeKalb | Dekalb Public Library fine-free | 3.8 | 68 | B |
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 Cortland
Does Cortland have a public library?
Yes. Cortland Community Library, 63 South Somonauk Road, serves Cortland’s 4,398 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cortland Community Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Cortland’s library?
It logged 7.2 visits and lent 7.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Cortland’s civic life grade?
B+ Cortland is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on civic life, #217 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 Cortland.
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.