Loves Park’s library runs 7.1 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
North Suburban Public Library District serves 69,307 people in and around Loves Park. Last year it lent 278K print books and media and logged 190K visits.
What stands out about North Suburban Public Library District
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Loves Park’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Loves Park is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns, #597 of 754 in Illinois. Loves Park is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($46K–$77K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
59 community nonprofits are registered in Loves Park
2.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.5%
6.5% of Loves Park’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 Loves Park’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
North Suburban Public Library District serves 69,307 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 46 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole North Suburban Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
278K 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 Loves Park’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 8 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.
Find it
North Suburban Public Library District, 6340 North Second Street, Loves Park.
No late fees. Good at every North Suburban Public Library District branch.
New in Loves Park? 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 $1.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Loves Park cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.1M 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 14,516 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belvidere Township | Ida Public Library | 3.3 | 56 | — graded with its twin city |
| Rockford | Rockford Public Library | 3.0 | 60 | C− |
| Rockford Township | Rockford Public Library | 3.0 | 60 | — graded with its twin city |
| Loves Park | North Suburban Public Library District fine-free | — | 58 | C− |
| Machesney Park | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Harlem Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Argyle | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Owen Township | None of its own | — | — | D− |
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. North Suburban Public Library District serves 69,307 people in and around Loves Park, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Loves Park.
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 Loves Park
Does Loves Park have a public library?
Yes. North Suburban Public Library District, 6340 North Second Street, serves 69,307 people in and around Loves Park (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is North Suburban Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Loves Park’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 4.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Loves Park’s civic life grade?
C− Loves Park is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns on civic life, #597 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 Loves Park.
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.