Glendale Heights’ library runs 53 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Glenside Public Library District serves 35,094 people in and around Glendale Heights. Last year it lent 199K print books and media and logged 196K visits.
The short version on Glendale Heights’s library
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Glenside Public Library District ran 1,865 programs last year, about 36 a week. That’s 53 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 39,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
Glenside Public Library District logs 5.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 90% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 5.7 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Open about 70 hours a week
The Glendale Heights branch is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
A well-funded system
Glenside Public Library District spends $103 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (92%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 1,865 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 11 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Glenside Public Library District serves 35,094 people in and around Glendale Heights, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Glendale Heights’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Glendale Heights is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns, #582 of 754 in Illinois. Library visits hold the grade up; Glendale Heights’ count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($65K–$108K) 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 →
37 community nonprofits are registered in Glendale Heights
1.1 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 (18 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.
4.1%
4.1% of Glendale Heights’ 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 Glendale Heights’ residents live; 2022.
About 24 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.
Glenside Public Library District serves 35,094 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 55 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Glenside Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
199K 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 Glendale Heights’ library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Find it
Glenside Public Library District, 25 East Fullerton Avenue, Glendale Heights.
No late fees. Good at every Glenside Public Library District branch.
New in Glendale Heights? 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 $1.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Glendale Heights cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.6M 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 19,255 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomingdale | Bloomingdale Public Library fine-free | 9.9 | 66 | C |
| Carol Stream | Carol Stream Public Library fine-free | 9.4 | 69 | C− |
| Addison | Addison Public Library fine-free | 6.4 | 66 | C− |
| Glendale Heights | Glenside Public Library District fine-free | — | 70 | 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. Glenside Public Library District serves 35,094 people in and around Glendale Heights, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Glendale Heights.
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 Glendale Heights
Does Glendale Heights have a public library?
Yes. Glenside Public Library District, 25 East Fullerton Avenue, serves 35,094 people in and around Glendale Heights (the survey’s count) and is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Glenside Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Glendale Heights’ library?
It logged 5.6 visits and lent 5.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Glendale Heights’ civic life grade?
C− Glendale Heights is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns on civic life, #582 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 Glendale Heights.
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.