Crete Township’s library runs 44 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Crete Public Library District serves 17,099 people in and around Crete Township. Last year it lent 100K print books and media and logged 61K visits.
The short version on Crete Township’s library
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 758 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Crete Public Library District spends $108 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (88%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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; Crete Public Library District serves 17,099 people in and around Crete Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Crete Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Crete Township is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns, #592 of 754 in Illinois. Crete Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Crete Township’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($60K–$101K) 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 →
78 community nonprofits are registered in Crete Township
3.3 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 (34 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.3%
5.3% of Crete Township’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 Crete Township’s residents live; 2022.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Crete Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.8M 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 5,537 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Crete Public Library District serves 17,099 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Crete Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
100K 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 Crete Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 10 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
Crete Public Library District, 1177 North Main Street, Crete.
No late fees. Good at every Crete Public Library District branch.
New in Crete Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monee Township | University Park Public Library District | 1.5 | 52 | C− |
| Crete Township | Crete Public Library District fine-free | — | 56 | C− |
| St. John Township | Dyer-Schererville Branch | — | 58 | C |
| Steger | Steger-South Chicago Heights Public Library District fine-free | — | 48 | D |
| Bloom Township | Glenwood-Lynwood Public Library District fine-free | — | 51 | C− |
| Crete | Crete Public Library District fine-free | — | 56 | B |
| Washington Township | Beecher Public Library District | — | 46 | C+ |
| Hanover Township | Cedar Lake Branch | — | 48 | C |
| Willowbrook | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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. Crete Public Library District serves 17,099 people in and around Crete Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Crete Township.
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 Crete Township
Does Crete Township have a public library?
Yes. Crete Public Library District, 1177 North Main Street, serves 17,099 people in and around Crete Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Crete Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Crete Township’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 5.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Crete Township’s civic life grade?
C− Crete Township is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life, #592 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 Crete Township.
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.