Photo: artistmac · CC BY-SA 2.0Normal’s library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Normal Public Library serves Normal’s 52,736 residents. Last year it lent 699K print books and media and logged 222K visits.
Normal’s library, in brief
Normal is a town of borrowers
Normal Public Library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 95% of similar-size libraries. Each item on the shelves went out about 4.1 times last year. What people borrow ↓
Normal out-borrows every town next door
At 13.3 loans per resident, Normal leads the five towns here. The closest is Normal Township, at 13.3. Libraries next door ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 170,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.1 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 Normal’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Normal is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns, #305 of 754 in Illinois. Library visits hold the grade up; Normal’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 →
169 community nonprofits are registered in Normal
3.2 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 (42 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.
8.1%
8.1% of Normal’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 Normal’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
699K 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 Normal’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 170K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.1 times last year, 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.
Normal Public Library serves 52,736 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 217 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 7 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.
Find it
Normal Public Library, 206 West College Avenue, Normal.
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 $3.49 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Normal cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $13M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.6M 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 17,642 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Normal borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | Normal Public Library fine-free | 13.3 | 62 | B− |
| Normal Township | Normal Public Library fine-free | 13.3 | 62 | — graded with its twin city |
| Towanda Township | Towanda District Library fine-free | 9.4 | 34 | B+ |
| Bloomington | Bloomington Public Library fine-free | 9.0 | 64 | C+ |
| Bloomington City Township | Bloomington Public Library fine-free | 9.0 | 64 | 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.
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 Normal
Does Normal have a public library?
Yes. Normal Public Library, 206 West College Avenue, serves Normal’s 52,736 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Normal Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Normal’s library?
It logged 4.2 visits and lent 13.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Normal’s civic life grade?
B− Normal is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns on civic life, #305 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 Normal.
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.