Photo: jdkscoop · CC BY-SA 3.0Hodgkins’ library runs 284 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Hodgkins Public Library District serves Hodgkins’s 1,504 residents. Last year it lent 11K print books and media and logged 14K visits.
The short version on Hodgkins’s library
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Hodgkins Public Library District ran 427 programs last year, about 8 a week. That’s 284 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 3,943 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Hodgkins Public Library District charges late fines on some overdue items. Two of the three libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Hodgkins invests in its library
Hodgkins Public Library District spends $429 per resident a year, about eight times the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (85%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
People come to Hodgkins Public Library District a lot
Hodgkins Public Library District logs 9.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 88% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 7.2 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
A place to get online
Hodgkins Public Library District logs about 42 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 15 public computers. That’s 10 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Hodgkins’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hodgkins is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns. Library visits hold the grade up; Hodgkins’ count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Hodgkins
3.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.7%
8.7% of Hodgkins’ 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 Hodgkins’ residents live; 2022.
About 3 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Hodgkins Public Library District serves 1,504 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
11K 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 Hodgkins’ library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
Find it
Hodgkins Public Library District, 6500 Wenz Avenue, Hodgkins.
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 Hodgkins cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $645K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $269K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $645K budget.
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 700 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Hodgkins ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McCook | Mccook Public Library District | 26.9 | 50 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Bedford Park | Bedford Park Public Library District fine-free | 8.2 | 66 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Hodgkins | Hodgkins Public Library District | 7.2 | 58 | B+ |
| Justice | Justice Public Library District fine-free | 1.2 | 55 | D− |
| Countryside | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Willow Springs | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Hodgkins Public Library District counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 Hodgkins
Does Hodgkins have a public library?
Yes. Hodgkins Public Library District, 6500 Wenz Avenue, serves Hodgkins’ 1,504 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hodgkins Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Hodgkins’ library?
It logged 9.5 visits and lent 7.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Hodgkins’ civic life grade?
B+ Hodgkins is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Hodgkins.
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.