Photo: MrHarman · CC BY-SA 3.0North Riverside’s library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
North Riverside Public Library District serves North Riverside’s 7,426 residents. Last year it lent 55K print books and media and logged 89K visits.
The short version on North Riverside’s library
North Riverside ranks 3rd in Illinois for library use
Out of 260 Illinois towns with a library of their own, North Riverside comes 3rd for visits per resident. How it compares ↓
North Riverside invests in its library
North Riverside Public Library District spends $163 per resident a year, about four times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (93%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
North Riverside Public Library District ran 698 programs last year, about 13 a week. That’s 94 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
69% of the 698 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 4.7 a week for ages 0–5. 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 North Riverside’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, North Riverside is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #173 of 754 in Illinois. Library visits hold the grade up; North Riverside’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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in North Riverside
1.1 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.8%
11.8% of North Riverside’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 North Riverside’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
North Riverside Public Library District serves 7,426 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Books and media off the shelf
55K 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 North Riverside’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 88K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
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.
Find it
North Riverside Public Library District, 2400 South Des Plaines Avenue, North Riverside.
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 North Riverside cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 4,058 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
North Riverside ranks 3rd of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside | Riverside Public Library fine-free | 11.1 | 65 | A+ |
| Brookfield | Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library fine-free | 9.3 | 67 | A− |
| North Riverside | North Riverside Public Library District fine-free | 7.4 | 51 | B+ |
| Proviso Township | Forest Park Public Library fine-free | 7.2 | 69 | C− |
| Forest Park | Forest Park Public Library fine-free | 7.2 | 69 | A |
| Berwyn | Berwyn Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 59 | D− |
| Berwyn Township | Berwyn Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 59 | — graded with its twin city |
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 North Riverside
Does North Riverside have a public library?
Yes. North Riverside Public Library District, 2400 South Des Plaines Avenue, serves North Riverside’s 7,426 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is North Riverside Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is North Riverside’s library?
It logged 11.9 visits and lent 7.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is North Riverside’s civic life grade?
B+ North Riverside is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on civic life, #173 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 North Riverside.
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.