Lynwood’s library lends 1.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Glenwood-Lynwood Public Library District serves 18,513 people in and around Lynwood. Last year it lent 25K print books and media and logged 46K visits.
Lynwood’s library, in brief
Well funded, but lightly used
Glenwood-Lynwood Public Library District spends $131 per resident, more than 95% of similar-size libraries. Use doesn’t match: visits per resident are lower than at 60% of them. What your card is worth ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Glenwood-Lynwood Public Library District sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
70% of the 227 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 27 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; Glenwood-Lynwood Public Library District serves 18,513 people in and around Lynwood, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Lynwood’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lynwood is ahead of 6% of U.S. towns, #701 of 754 in Illinois. Lynwood is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Lynwood’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($64K–$107K) 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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Lynwood
2.7 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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.7%
2.7% of Lynwood’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 Lynwood’s residents live; 2022.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lynwood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $474K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.4M 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 6,367 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Glenwood-Lynwood Public Library District serves 18,513 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Glenwood-Lynwood Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
25K 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 Lynwood’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
227 programs a year
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
Glenwood-Lynwood Public Library District, 19901 Stony Island Avenue, Lynwood.
No late fees. Good at every Glenwood-Lynwood Public Library District branch.
New in Lynwood? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lansing | Lansing Public Library fine-free | 2.8 | 60 | C |
| Sauk Village | Nancy L. Mcconathy Public Library District | 0.7 | 44 | D |
| Lynwood | Glenwood-Lynwood Public Library District fine-free | — | 51 | D |
| Ford Heights | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Glenwood | 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. Glenwood-Lynwood Public Library District serves 18,513 people in and around Lynwood, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Lynwood.
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 Lynwood
Does Lynwood have a public library?
Yes. Glenwood-Lynwood Public Library District, 19901 Stony Island Avenue, serves 18,513 people in and around Lynwood (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Glenwood-Lynwood Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Lynwood’s library?
It logged 2.5 visits and lent 1.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Lynwood’s civic life grade?
D Lynwood is ahead of 6% of U.S. towns on civic life, #701 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 Lynwood.
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.