Photo: SHurleyVOM · CC BY-SA 4.0Matteson’s library runs 45 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Matteson Area Public Library District serves Matteson’s 19,519 residents. Last year it lent 66K print books and media and logged 67K visits.
The short version on Matteson’s library
Open about 65 hours a week
Matteson Area Public Library District is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out. The building ↓
Matteson invests in its library
Matteson Area Public Library District spends $123 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (94%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Programs draw a crowd
23,000 people came to the library’s 888 programs last year: 1.2 per resident, against a typical 0.4, more than at 91% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
54% of the 888 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 226 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 Matteson’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Matteson is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns, #382 of 754 in Illinois. Matteson’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($72K–$119K) 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 →
126 community nonprofits are registered in Matteson
6.8 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 (64 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 13 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.3%
3.3% of Matteson’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 Matteson’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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 4 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Matteson Area Public Library District serves 19,519 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
66K 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 Matteson’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 70K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
Find it
Matteson Public Library, 801 South School Avenue, Matteson.
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 Matteson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M 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 4,075 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Matteson ranks 4th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rich Township | Flossmoor Public Library | 9.7 | 65 | C+ |
| Frankfort Township | Frankfort Public Library District | 7.7 | 67 | C+ |
| Frankfort | Frankfort Public Library District | 7.7 | 67 | B+ |
| Matteson | Matteson Public Library fine-free | 3.4 | 65 | C+ |
| Park Forest | Park Forest Public Library fine-free | 2.3 | 48 | C− |
| Richton Park | Richton Park Public Library District fine-free | 2.2 | 54 | C+ |
| Olympia Fields | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Frankfort Square | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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 Matteson
Does Matteson have a public library?
Yes. Matteson Area Public Library District, 801 South School Avenue, serves Matteson’s 19,519 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Matteson Area Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Matteson’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 3.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Matteson’s civic life grade?
C+ Matteson is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns on civic life, #382 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 Matteson.
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.