Milton Township’s library lends 19 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Glen Ellyn Public Library serves 28,846 people in and around Milton Township. Last year it lent 558K print books and media and logged 218K visits.
Milton Township’s library, in brief
Milton Township uses its library more than almost any town its size
Glen Ellyn Public Library logs 7.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 19 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 96% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Milton Township invests in its library
Glen Ellyn Public Library spends $165 per resident a year, about four times the typical $40 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Milton Township out-borrows every town next door
At 19.3 loans per resident, Milton Township leads the seven towns here. The closest is York Township, at 19.1. Libraries next door ↓
Open about 69 hours a week
Glen Ellyn Public Library is open about 69 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 155 items go out. The buildings ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 123,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.5 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
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 Milton Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Milton Township is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns, #332 of 754 in Illinois. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #89. Milton Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Milton Township’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
418 community nonprofits are registered in Milton Township
3.5 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 (120 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 45 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.9%
7.9% of Milton Township’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 Milton Township’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
558K 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 Milton Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 123K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.5 times last year, 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.
Glen Ellyn Public Library serves 28,846 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 155 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 9 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.
2 places to borrow in Milton Township
Glen Ellyn Public Library, 400 Duane Street, Glen Ellyn.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Milton Township
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.75 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Milton Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $18M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.8M 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 12,540 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Milton Township borrows the most per resident of the 7 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milton Township | Glen Ellyn Public Library fine-free | 19.3 | 69 | B− |
| York Township | Elmhurst Public Library fine-free | 19.1 | 70 | B− |
| Wheaton | Wheaton Public Library fine-free | 17.2 | 68 | A− |
| Naperville | Naperville Public Library fine-free | 16.1 | 73 | A− |
| Lisle Township | Woodridge Public Library fine-free | 12.5 | 70 | C+ |
| Winfield Township | Warrenville Public Library District fine-free | 12.0 | 65 | C− |
| Winfield | Winfield Public Library fine-free | 5.8 | 62 | C+ |
| Bloomingdale Township | Glenside Public Library District fine-free | — | 70 | 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.
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 Milton Township
Does Milton Township have a public library?
Yes. Glen Ellyn Public Library, 400 Duane Street, serves 28,846 people in and around Milton Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 69 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Glen Ellyn Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Milton Township’s library?
It logged 7.6 visits and lent 19.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Milton Township’s civic life grade?
B− Milton Township is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns on civic life, #332 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 Milton Township.
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.