Photo: Miroslaw Mucha · Public domainNiles’ library lends 9.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Niles-Maine District Library serves 59,181 people in and around Niles. Last year it lent 551K print books and media and logged 208K visits.
Niles’s library, in brief
A system of heavy borrowers
Niles-Maine District Library lends 9.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 88% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Open about 64 hours a week
The Niles branch is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
A well-funded system
Niles-Maine District Library spends $104 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
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; Niles-Maine District Library serves 59,181 people in and around Niles, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Niles’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Niles is ahead of 6% of U.S. towns, #703 of 754 in Illinois. Niles 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 ($56K–$94K) 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 →
55 community nonprofits are registered in Niles
1.8 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 (25 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 12 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.1%
5.1% of Niles’ 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 Niles’ residents live; 2022.
About 13 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Niles-Maine District Library serves 59,181 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 167 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Niles-Maine District Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
551K 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 Niles’ library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Find it
Niles-Maine District Library, 6960 Oakton Street, Niles.
No late fees. Good at every Niles-Maine District Library branch.
New in Niles? 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 $1.65 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Niles cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $6.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.1M 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 16,196 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niles Township | Skokie Public Library fine-free | 21.3 | 75 | C+ |
| Skokie | Skokie Public Library fine-free | 21.3 | 75 | B+ |
| Glenview | Glenview Public Library fine-free | 17.4 | 72 | B+ |
| Park Ridge | Park Ridge Public Library fine-free | 15.3 | 68 | A− |
| Morton Grove | Morton Grove Public Library fine-free | 10.2 | 69 | C+ |
| Chicago | Chicago Public Library fine-free | 3.9 | 72 | C− |
| Niles | Niles-Maine District Library fine-free | — | 64 | 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. Niles-Maine District Library serves 59,181 people in and around Niles, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Niles.
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 Niles
Does Niles have a public library?
Yes. Niles-Maine District Library, 6960 Oakton Street, serves 59,181 people in and around Niles (the survey’s count) and is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Niles-Maine District Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Niles’ library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 9.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Niles’ civic life grade?
D Niles is ahead of 6% of U.S. towns on civic life, #703 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 Niles.
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.