Lincolnshire’s library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Vernon Area Public Library District serves 44,206 people in and around Lincolnshire. Last year it lent 537K print books and media and logged 230K visits.
The short version on Lincolnshire’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
Vernon Area Public Library District logs 5.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
Vernon Area Public Library District spends $179 per resident a year, about four times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (93%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 69 hours a week
The Lincolnshire branch is open about 69 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
Programs draw a crowd
37,000 people came to the system’s 1,083 programs last year: 0.8 per resident, against a typical 0.3, more than at 92% of similar-size libraries. 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; Vernon Area Public Library District serves 44,206 people in and around Lincolnshire, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Lincolnshire’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lincolnshire is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #121 of 754 in Illinois. Lincolnshire is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks 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 →
38 community nonprofits are registered in Lincolnshire
4.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.3%
9.3% of Lincolnshire’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 Lincolnshire’s residents live; 2022.
About 11 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.
Vernon Area Public Library District serves 44,206 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 150 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Vernon Area Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
537K 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 Lincolnshire’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Find it
Vernon Area Public Library District, 300 Olde Half Day Road, Lincolnshire.
No late fees. Good at every Vernon Area Public Library District branch.
New in Lincolnshire? 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 $1.20 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lincolnshire cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $7.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $9.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $7.9M 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 19,686 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Forest | Lake Forest Library fine-free | 12.0 | 67 | A+ |
| Lincolnshire | Vernon Area Public Library District fine-free | — | 69 | A− |
| Vernon Hills | Aspen Drive Library fine-free | — | 68 | B |
| Buffalo Grove | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Riverwoods | 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.
- Digital loans not reported. Illinois libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Vernon Area Public Library District serves 44,206 people in and around Lincolnshire, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Lincolnshire.
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 Lincolnshire
Does Lincolnshire have a public library?
Yes. Vernon Area Public Library District, 300 Olde Half Day Road, serves 44,206 people in and around Lincolnshire (the survey’s count) and is open about 69 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Vernon Area Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Lincolnshire’s library?
It logged 5.2 visits and lent 12.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Lincolnshire’s civic life grade?
A− Lincolnshire is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on civic life, #121 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 Lincolnshire.
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.