Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0Elburn’s library runs 63 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Town and Country Public Library District serves 11,823 people in and around Elburn. Last year it lent 97K print books and media and logged 51K visits.
What Elburn’s library is like
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Town and Country Public Library District ran 741 programs last year, about 14 a week. That’s 63 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 68 hours a week
The Elburn branch is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
A well-funded system
Town and Country Public Library District spends $121 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (95%) 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; Town and Country Public Library District serves 11,823 people in and around Elburn, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Elburn’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Elburn is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #18 of 754 in Illinois. Elburn is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
41 community nonprofits are registered in Elburn
6.5 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 (5 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.
12.2%
12.2% of Elburn’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 Elburn’s residents live; 2022.
About 7 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.
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.
Town and Country Public Library District serves 11,823 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 28 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Town and Country Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
97K 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 Elburn’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Find it
Town and Country Public Library District, 320 East North Street, Elburn.
No late fees. Good at every Town and Country Public Library District branch.
New in Elburn? The Handbook →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 $1.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elburn cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 5,752 cardholders ÷ 12.
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. Town and Country Public Library District serves 11,823 people in and around Elburn, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Elburn.
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 Elburn
Does Elburn have a public library?
Yes. Town and Country Public Library District, 320 East North Street, serves 11,823 people in and around Elburn (the survey’s count) and is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Town and Country Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Elburn’s library?
It logged 4.3 visits and lent 8.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Elburn’s civic life grade?
A+ Elburn is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on civic life, #18 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 Elburn.
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.