Crestwood’s library logs 4.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Crestwood Public Library District serves 9,214 people in and around Crestwood. Last year it lent 31K print books and media and logged 38K visits.
The short version on Crestwood’s library
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Crestwood Public Library District charges late fines on some overdue items. Two of the three libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 19% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Crestwood Public Library District serves 9,214 people in and around Crestwood, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Crestwood’s civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, Crestwood is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns, #442 of 754 in Illinois. Crestwood is graded on two of the three inputs. Library visits hold the grade up; Crestwood’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($57K–$95K) 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 Crestwood
2.5 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Crestwood Public Library District serves 9,214 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Crestwood Public Library District system. 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 Crestwood’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
Crestwood Public Library District, 4955 West 135th Street, Crestwood.
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 Crestwood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $591K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $566K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $591K 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 1,726 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midlothian | Midlothian Public Library fine-free | 2.9 | 58 | C− |
| Crestwood | Crestwood Public Library District | — | 59 | C+ |
| Robbins | William Leonard Public Library District | — | 37 | D |
| Alsip | Alsip-Merrionette Park Library District fine-free | — | 68 | 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.
- System-wide. Crestwood Public Library District serves 9,214 people in and around Crestwood, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Crestwood.
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 Crestwood
Does Crestwood have a public library?
Yes. Crestwood Public Library District, 4955 West 135th Street, serves 9,214 people in and around Crestwood (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Crestwood Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Crestwood’s library?
It logged 4.1 visits and lent 3.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Crestwood’s civic life grade?
C+ Crestwood is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns on civic life, #442 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 Crestwood.
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.