Photo: davidwilson1949 · CC BY 2.0Harvey’s library logs 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Harvey Public Library District serves Harvey’s 20,324 residents. Last year it logged 7,351 visits.
The short version on Harvey’s library
Few programs for a library this size
Harvey Public Library District offered 78 programs last year, 3.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
86% of the 78 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 9 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.
What’s behind Harvey’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Harvey is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns, #721 of 754 in Illinois. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Harvey’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Harvey’s 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($32K–$53K) 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 →
60 community nonprofits are registered in Harvey
3.0 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 (65 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 7 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.2%
2.2% of Harvey’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 Harvey’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 5 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Harvey Public Library District serves 20,324 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
A year at Harvey Public Library District
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Loans aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 2,446 items borrowed against 7,351 visits, so we leave the count out.
78 programs a year
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
Harvey Public Library District, 15441 Turlington Avenue, Harvey.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Harvey cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $619K.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 1,205 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Holland | South Holland Public Library fine-free | 2.5 | 59 | C+ |
| Markham | Markham Public Library | 0.5 | 51 | D |
| Phoenix | Phoenix Public Library District | 0.2 | 48 | D− |
| Harvey | Harvey Public Library District | — | 44 | D− |
| Dolton | Dolton Public Library District | — | 54 | D |
| Hazel Crest | Grande Prairie Public Library District | — | 58 | C |
| Dixmoor | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| East Hazel Crest | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Posen | None of its own | — | — | D− |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Harvey Public Library District counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- Loans left out. This year’s loan count is far below the library’s visits and shelves, so we leave it out.
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 Harvey
Does Harvey have a public library?
Yes. Harvey Public Library District, 15441 Turlington Avenue, serves Harvey’s 20,324 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Harvey Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Harvey’s library?
It logged 0.4 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Harvey’s civic life grade?
D− Harvey is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns on civic life, #721 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 Harvey.
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.