Photo: Mpen320 · CC BY-SA 4.0Geneva’s library runs 129 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Geneva Public Library District serves 32,791 people in and around Geneva. Last year it lent 508K print books and media and logged 259K visits.
The short version on Geneva’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
Geneva Public Library District logs 7.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 15 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 96% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Nine times the programs of a typical library its size
Geneva Public Library District ran 4,226 programs last year, about 81 a week. That’s 129 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 45,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Geneva Public Library District spends $152 per resident a year, about four times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (88%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 69 hours a week
The Geneva branch is open about 69 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
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; Geneva Public Library District serves 32,791 people in and around Geneva, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Geneva’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Geneva is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #52 of 754 in Illinois. Geneva 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 →
110 community nonprofits are registered in Geneva
5.2 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 (12 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.
11.2%
11.2% of Geneva’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 Geneva’s residents live; 2022.
About 15 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 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Geneva Public Library District serves 32,791 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 142 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Geneva Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
508K 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 Geneva’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Find it
Geneva Public Library District, 227 South Seventh Street, Geneva.
No late fees. Good at every Geneva Public Library District branch.
New in Geneva? 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 $1.87 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Geneva cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $9.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5M 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 22,889 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batavia | Batavia Public Library District | 15.5 | 67 | A |
| Geneva | Geneva Public Library District fine-free | — | 69 | A |
| St. Charles | Saint Charles Public Library District fine-free | — | 72 | B+ |
| St. Charles Township | Saint Charles Public Library District fine-free | — | 72 | B+ |
| Geneva Township | Geneva Public Library District fine-free | — | 69 | A |
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. Geneva Public Library District serves 32,791 people in and around Geneva, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Geneva.
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 Geneva
Does Geneva have a public library?
Yes. Geneva Public Library District, 227 South Seventh Street, serves 32,791 people in and around Geneva (the survey’s count) and is open about 69 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Geneva Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Geneva’s library?
It logged 7.9 visits and lent 15.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Geneva’s civic life grade?
A Geneva is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on civic life, #52 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 Geneva.
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.