Photo: Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois · CC BY-SA 2.0La Grange’s library lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Lagrange Public Library serves La Grange’s 16,321 residents. Last year it lent 251K print books and media and logged 166K visits.
The short version on La Grange’s library
La Grange uses its library more than almost any town its size
Lagrange Public Library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 15 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
La Grange ranks 6th in Illinois for library use
Out of 260 Illinois towns with a library of their own, La Grange comes 6th for visits per resident. It’s also #20 for borrowing. How it compares ↓
La Grange out-borrows every town next door
At 15.3 loans per resident, La Grange leads the four towns here. The closest is Lyons Township, at 15.3. Libraries next door ↓
La Grange invests in its library
Lagrange Public Library spends $176 per resident a year, about four times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (96%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 67 hours a week
Lagrange Public Library is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 72 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 La Grange’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, La Grange is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #133 of 754 in Illinois. Library visits hold the grade up; La Grange’s 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 →
55 community nonprofits are registered in La Grange
3.4 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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.7%
8.7% of La Grange’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 La Grange’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 72 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Lagrange Public Library serves 16,321 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Books and media off the shelf
251K 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 La Grange’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 88K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.9 times last year, on average.
About 6 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
Lagrange Public Library, 10 West Cossitt Avenue, La Grange.
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 $1.55 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average La Grange cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.9M 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 9,776 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
La Grange 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Grange | Lagrange Public Library fine-free | 15.3 | 67 | A− |
| Lyons Township | Lagrange Public Library fine-free | 15.3 | 67 | C |
| Proviso Township | Forest Park Public Library fine-free | 7.2 | 69 | C− |
| La Grange Park | Lagrange Park Public Library District fine-free | 5.7 | 61 | B− |
| Countryside | None of its own | — | — | B |
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 La Grange
Does La Grange have a public library?
Yes. Lagrange Public Library, 10 West Cossitt Avenue, serves La Grange’s 16,321 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lagrange Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is La Grange’s library?
It logged 10.1 visits and lent 15.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is La Grange’s civic life grade?
A− La Grange is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on civic life, #133 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 La Grange.
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.