Photo: Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 4.0Oak Park’s library lends 19 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Oak Park Public Library serves Oak Park’s 54,583 residents from 3 locations. Last year it lent 1M print books and media and logged 371K visits.
What Oak Park’s library is like
Oak Park uses its library more than almost any town its size
Oak Park Public Library logs 6.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 19 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 95% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Oak Park ranks 5th in Illinois for borrowing
Out of 259 Illinois towns with a library of their own, Oak Park comes 5th for items borrowed per resident. How it compares ↓
Oak Park invests in its library
Oak Park Public Library spends $203 per resident a year, about five times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (92%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 68 hours a week
The main library is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 117 items go out. The buildings ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 244,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.3 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 Oak Park’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Oak Park is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #23 of 754 in Illinois. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
284 community nonprofits are registered in Oak Park
5.3 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 (67 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 20 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
15.4%
15.4% of Oak Park’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 Oak Park’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
1M 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 Oak Park’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 244K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.3 times last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Oak Park Public Library serves 54,583 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 117 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 17 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.
3 places to borrow in Oak Park
Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake Street, Oak Park.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Oak Park
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.69 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Oak Park cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $11M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $19M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $11M 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 48,117 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Oak Park borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Park | Oak Park Public Library fine-free | 19.1 | 68 | A |
| Oak Park Township | Oak Park Public Library fine-free | 19.1 | 68 | — graded with its twin city |
| Chicago | Chicago Public Library fine-free | 3.9 | 72 | 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 Oak Park
Does Oak Park have a public library?
Yes. Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake Street, serves Oak Park’s 54,583 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Oak Park Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Oak Park’s library?
It logged 6.8 visits and lent 19.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Oak Park’s civic life grade?
A Oak Park is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on civic life, #23 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 Oak Park.
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.