Schiller, Alfred A.,House · Photo: Teemu08 · CC BY-SA 3.0Glen Ellyn’s library lends 19 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Glen Ellyn Public Library serves Glen Ellyn’s 28,846 residents. Last year it lent 558K print books and media and logged 218K visits.
Glen Ellyn’s library, in brief
Glen Ellyn uses its library more than almost any town its size
Glen Ellyn Public Library logs 7.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 19 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 ↓
Glen Ellyn ranks 4th in Illinois for borrowing
Out of 259 Illinois towns with a library of their own, Glen Ellyn comes 4th for items borrowed per resident. How it compares ↓
Glen Ellyn out-borrows every town next door
At 19 loans per resident, Glen Ellyn leads the four towns here. The closest is Wheaton, at 17. Libraries next door ↓
Glen Ellyn invests in its library
Glen Ellyn Public Library spends $165 per resident a year, about four times the typical $40 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 69 hours a week
Glen Ellyn Public Library is open about 69 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 155 items go out. 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.
What’s behind Glen Ellyn’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Glen Ellyn is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #82 of 754 in Illinois. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
156 community nonprofits are registered in Glen Ellyn
5.5 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 (18 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 11 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.3%
8.3% of Glen Ellyn’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 Glen Ellyn’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
558K 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 Glen Ellyn’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 123K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.5 times last year, 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.
Glen Ellyn Public Library serves 28,846 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 155 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 9 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.
Find it
Glen Ellyn Public Library, 400 Duane Street, Glen Ellyn.
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 $3.75 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Glen Ellyn cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $18M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.8M 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 12,540 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Glen Ellyn borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glen Ellyn | Glen Ellyn Public Library fine-free | 19.3 | 69 | A |
| Wheaton | Wheaton Public Library fine-free | 17.2 | 68 | A− |
| Lombard | Helen M. Plum Memorial Public Library District fine-free | 12.4 | 70 | B |
| Carol Stream | Carol Stream Public Library fine-free | 9.4 | 69 | 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 Glen Ellyn
Does Glen Ellyn have a public library?
Yes. Glen Ellyn Public Library, 400 Duane Street, serves Glen Ellyn’s 28,846 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 69 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Glen Ellyn Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Glen Ellyn’s library?
It logged 7.6 visits and lent 19.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Glen Ellyn’s civic life grade?
A Glen Ellyn is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on civic life, #82 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 Glen Ellyn.
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.