Photo: SounderBruce · CC BY-SA 4.0Elgin’s library logs 4.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size
Gail Borden Public Library District serves 149,907 people in and around Elgin from 2 locations. Last year it lent 849K print books and media and logged 639K visits.
Elgin’s library, in brief
Visits are the system’s strong suit
Gail Borden Public Library District logs 4.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 93% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 5.7 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Programs draw a crowd
93,000 people came to the system’s 2,450 programs last year: 0.6 per resident, against a typical 0.2, more than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 71 hours a week
The Elgin branch is open about 71 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
A well-funded system
Gail Borden Public Library District spends $115 per resident a year, about three times the typical $36 for a library its size. Almost all of it (93%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
53% of the 2,450 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 849 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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; Gail Borden Public Library District serves 149,907 people in and around Elgin, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Elgin’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Elgin is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns, #681 of 754 in Illinois. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #293. Elgin is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Elgin’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($68K–$113K) 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 →
257 community nonprofits are registered in Elgin
2.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (94 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 19 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.4%
5.4% of Elgin’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 Elgin’s residents live; 2022.
About 16 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 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Gail Borden Public Library District serves 149,907 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 77 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Gail Borden Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
849K 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 Elgin’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
2 places to borrow in Elgin
Gail Borden Public Library District, 270 North Grove Avenue, Elgin.
No late fees. Good at every Gail Borden Public Library District branch.
New in Elgin? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Gail Borden Public Library District branches in Elgin
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elgin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $17M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $16M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $17M 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 77,109 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bartlett | Bartlett Public Library District | 7.4 | 68 | C |
| Elgin | Gail Borden Public Library District fine-free | — | 71 | D |
| West Dundee | Randall Oaks Library fine-free | — | 61 | C |
| Elgin Township | Gail Borden Public Library District fine-free | — | 71 | — graded with its twin city |
| Dundee Township | Fox River Valley Public Library District fine-free | — | 65 | D |
| Hanover Township | Poplar Creek Public Library District | — | 62 | D− |
| Campton Hills | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Pingree Grove | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| South Elgin | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Gilberts | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Plato Township | None of its own | — | — | 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. Gail Borden Public Library District serves 149,907 people in and around Elgin, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Elgin.
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 Elgin
Does Elgin have a public library?
Yes. Gail Borden Public Library District, 270 North Grove Avenue, serves 149,907 people in and around Elgin (the survey’s count) and is open about 71 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Gail Borden Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Elgin’s library?
It logged 4.3 visits and lent 5.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Elgin’s civic life grade?
D Elgin is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns on civic life, #681 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 Elgin.
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.