Photo: Imdanielduncan · CC BY 4.0LaSalle’s library logs 4.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Lasalle Public Library serves LaSalle’s 9,582 residents. Last year it lent 17K print books and media and logged 45K visits.
What LaSalle’s library is like
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
63% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 21%. What your card is worth ↓
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 72% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 21%. The building also logs about 16 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Lasalle Public Library offered 52 programs last year, 5.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 11% of the people Lasalle Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
65% of the 52 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 12 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 LaSalle’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, LaSalle is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns, #196 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 →
39 community nonprofits are registered in LaSalle
4.1 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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.4%
8.4% of LaSalle’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 LaSalle’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Lasalle Public Library serves 9,582 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
17K 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 LaSalle’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 55K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
52 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
Lasalle Public Library, 305 Marquette Street, La Salle.
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 LaSalle cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $523K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $316K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $523K 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 1,033 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
LaSalle ranks 5th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peru | Peru Public Library fine-free | 5.4 | 58 | B+ |
| Peru Township | Peru Public Library fine-free | 5.4 | 58 | — graded with its twin city |
| North Utica | Utica Public Library District | 4.4 | 32 | A+ |
| Utica Township | Utica Public Library District | 4.4 | 32 | A+ |
| LaSalle | Lasalle Public Library fine-free | 1.8 | 43 | B+ |
| LaSalle Township | Lasalle Public Library fine-free | 1.8 | 43 | B+ |
| Dimmick Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Lasalle Public Library 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 LaSalle
Does LaSalle have a public library?
Yes. Lasalle Public Library, 305 Marquette Street, serves LaSalle’s 9,582 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lasalle Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is LaSalle’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 1.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is LaSalle’s civic life grade?
B+ LaSalle is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns on civic life, #196 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 LaSalle.
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.