Lincolnwood’s library runs 75 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Lincolnwood Public Library District serves Lincolnwood’s 13,469 residents. Last year it lent 135K print books and media and logged 89K visits.
The short version on Lincolnwood’s library
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Lincolnwood Public Library District ran 1,015 programs last year, about 20 a week. That’s 75 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 18,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Lincolnwood uses its library more than almost any town its size
Lincolnwood Public Library District logs 6.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 10 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Lincolnwood invests in its library
Lincolnwood Public Library District spends $191 per resident a year, about four times the typical $43 for a library its size. All of it comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 65 hours a week
Lincolnwood Public Library District is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 40 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 Lincolnwood’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Lincolnwood is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #182 of 754 in Illinois. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
66 community nonprofits are registered in Lincolnwood
5.0 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 (24 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 10 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.5%
6.5% of Lincolnwood’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 Lincolnwood’s residents live; 2022.
About 7 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 all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Lincolnwood Public Library District serves 13,469 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 40 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
135K 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 Lincolnwood’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 58K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.3 times last year, on average.
Find it
Lincolnwood Public Library District, 4000 West Pratt Avenue, Lincolnwood.
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 Lincolnwood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.6M 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 5,666 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Lincolnwood ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skokie | Skokie Public Library fine-free | 21.3 | 75 | B+ |
| Niles Township | Skokie Public Library fine-free | 21.3 | 75 | C+ |
| Lincolnwood | Lincolnwood Public Library District fine-free | 10.0 | 65 | B+ |
| Chicago | Chicago Public Library fine-free | 3.9 | 72 | 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.
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 Lincolnwood
Does Lincolnwood have a public library?
Yes. Lincolnwood Public Library District, 4000 West Pratt Avenue, serves Lincolnwood’s 13,469 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lincolnwood Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Lincolnwood’s library?
It logged 6.6 visits and lent 10.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Lincolnwood’s civic life grade?
B+ Lincolnwood is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on civic life, #182 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 Lincolnwood.
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.