Photo: Madcoverboy · CC BY-SA 3.0Evanston’s library logs 5.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Evanston Public Library serves Evanston’s 78,110 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 699K print books and media and logged 413K visits.
Evanston’s library, in brief
Evanston uses its library more than almost any town its size
Evanston Public Library logs 5.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 8.9 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Evanston invests in its library
Evanston Public Library spends $103 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (87%) 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.
What’s behind Evanston’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Evanston is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #36 of 754 in Illinois. All three 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 →
438 community nonprofits are registered in Evanston
5.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (84 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 29 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
13.5%
13.5% of Evanston’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 Evanston’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 109 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Evanston Public Library serves 78,110 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Books and media off the shelf
699K 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 Evanston’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 371K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.9 times last year, on average.
About 12 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, 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 Evanston
Evanston Public Library, 1703 Orrington Avenue, Evanston.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Evanston
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.59 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Evanston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $13M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $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 25,217 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Evanston ranks 5th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmette | Wilmette Public Library District fine-free | 23.6 | 71 | A |
| New Trier Township | Wilmette Public Library District fine-free | 23.6 | 71 | A |
| Skokie | Skokie Public Library fine-free | 21.3 | 75 | B+ |
| Niles Township | Skokie Public Library fine-free | 21.3 | 75 | C+ |
| Evanston | Evanston Public Library fine-free | 8.9 | 62 | A |
| Chicago | Chicago Public Library fine-free | 3.9 | 72 | 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.
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 Evanston
Does Evanston have a public library?
Yes. Evanston Public Library, 1703 Orrington Avenue, serves Evanston’s 78,110 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Evanston Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Evanston’s library?
It logged 5.3 visits and lent 8.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Evanston’s civic life grade?
A Evanston is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #36 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 Evanston.
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.