Northlake’s library logs 2.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Northlake Public Library District serves 26,667 people in and around Northlake. Last year it lent 93K print books and media and logged 71K visits.
The short version on Northlake’s library
Open about 67 hours a week
The Northlake branch is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
A well-funded system
Northlake Public Library District spends $128 per resident a year, about three times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (89%) comes from local taxes. 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; Northlake Public Library District serves 26,667 people in and around Northlake, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Northlake’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Northlake has fewer per resident than most U.S. towns. Northlake is graded on two of the three inputs. Northlake’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the U.S. middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($63K–$105K) 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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Northlake
1.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (15 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.1%
3.1% of Northlake’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 Northlake’s residents live; 2022.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Northlake cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.4M 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 11,089 cardholders ÷ 12.
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.
Northlake Public Library District serves 26,667 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Northlake Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
93K 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 Northlake’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 4 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.
Find it
Northlake Public Library District, 231 North Wolf Road, Northlake.
No late fees. Good at every Northlake Public Library District branch.
New in Northlake? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elmhurst | Elmhurst Public Library fine-free | 19.1 | 70 | A− |
| York Township | Elmhurst Public Library fine-free | 19.1 | 70 | B− |
| Proviso Township | Forest Park Public Library fine-free | 7.2 | 69 | C− |
| Berkeley | Berkeley Public Library fine-free | 4.8 | 54 | C+ |
| Franklin Park | Franklin Park Public Library District fine-free | 3.7 | 56 | D |
| Melrose Park | Melrose Park Public Library fine-free | 1.0 | 42 | D− |
| Northlake | Northlake Public Library District fine-free | — | 67 | D− |
| Stone Park | None of its own | — | — | 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. Northlake Public Library District serves 26,667 people in and around Northlake, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Northlake.
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 Northlake
Does Northlake have a public library?
Yes. Northlake Public Library District, 231 North Wolf Road, serves 26,667 people in and around Northlake (the survey’s count) and is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Northlake Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Northlake’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 3.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Northlake’s civic life grade?
D− Northlake has fewer community nonprofits per resident, and fewer younger adults in volunteering groups, than most U.S. towns. 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 Northlake.
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.