Northfield’s library lends 19 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District serves 18,495 people in and around Northfield. Last year it lent 354K print books and media and logged 182K visits.
Northfield’s library, in brief
Northfield uses its library more than almost any town its size
Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District logs 9.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 19 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Northfield invests in its library
Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District spends $196 per resident a year, about five times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (89%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 67 hours a week
Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 51 items go out. The building ↓
Programs draw a crowd
22,000 people came to the library’s 869 programs last year: 1.2 per resident, against a typical 0.4, more than at 92% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District serves more than Northfield
The library’s service area covers 18,495 people in and around Northfield, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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 Northfield’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Northfield is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #502 of 754 in Illinois. Northfield is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Northfield’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($121K–$202K) 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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Northfield
2.2 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.1%
8.1% of Northfield’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 Northfield’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
354K 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 Northfield’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 94K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.8 times last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District serves 18,495 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 51 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.
Find it
Northfield Branch Library, 1785 Orchard Lane, Northfield.
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 $1.95 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Northfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $3.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7M 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 9,277 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Northfield ranks 3rd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmette | Wilmette Public Library District fine-free | 23.6 | 71 | A |
| Northbrook | Northbrook Public Library fine-free | 21.5 | 67 | A |
| Northfield | Northfield Branch Library fine-free | 19.2 | 67 | C |
| Winnetka | Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District fine-free | 19.2 | 66 | A |
| Glencoe | Glencoe Public Library fine-free | 18.5 | 67 | A |
| Glenview | Glenview Public Library fine-free | 17.4 | 72 | B+ |
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 Northfield
Does Northfield have a public library?
Yes. Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District, 1785 Orchard Lane, serves 18,495 people in and around Northfield (the survey’s count) and is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Northfield’s library?
It logged 9.8 visits and lent 19.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Northfield’s civic life grade?
C Northfield is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on civic life, #502 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 Northfield.
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.