Photo: Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois · CC BY-SA 2.0Dundee Township’s library runs 9.1 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Fox River Valley Public Library District serves 71,530 people in and around Dundee Township from 2 locations. Last year it lent 293K print books and media and logged 137K visits.
What stands out about Fox River Valley Public Library District
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Dundee Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Dundee Township is ahead of 7% of U.S. towns, #696 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 ($74K–$123K) 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 →
114 community nonprofits are registered in Dundee Township
1.8 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 (35 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 14 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.9%
4.9% of Dundee 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 Dundee Township’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.
Fox River Valley Public Library District serves 71,530 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 45 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Fox River Valley Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
293K 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 Dundee Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 6 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.
2 places to borrow in Dundee Township
Fox River Valley Public Library District, 555 Barrington Avenue, East Dundee.
No late fees. Good at every Fox River Valley Public Library District branch.
New in Dundee Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Fox River Valley Public Library District branches in Dundee Township
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.22 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dundee Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.2M 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 17,745 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dundee Township | Fox River Valley Public Library District fine-free | — | 65 | D |
| Algonquin Township | Algonquin Area Public Library District fine-free | — | 69 | C+ |
| Elgin Township | Gail Borden Public Library District fine-free | — | 71 | — graded with its twin city |
| Elgin | Gail Borden Public Library District fine-free | — | 71 | D |
| Algonquin | Algonquin Area Public Library District fine-free | — | 69 | C |
| Hanover Township | Poplar Creek Public Library District | — | 62 | D− |
| Rutland Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Barrington Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Gilberts | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Barrington Hills | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- System-wide. Fox River Valley Public Library District serves 71,530 people in and around Dundee Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Dundee 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 Dundee Township
Does Dundee Township have a public library?
Yes. Fox River Valley Public Library District, 555 Barrington Avenue, serves 71,530 people in and around Dundee Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Fox River Valley Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Dundee Township’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 4.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Dundee Township’s civic life grade?
D Dundee Township is ahead of 7% of U.S. towns on civic life, #696 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 Dundee 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.