Photo: IvoShandor · CC BY-SA 3.0Ottawa’s library lends 4.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Reddick Public Library District serves 23,958 people in and around Ottawa. Last year it lent 116K print books and media and logged 62K visits.
What stands out about Reddick Public Library District
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Ottawa’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ottawa is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #41 of 754 in Illinois. Ottawa is graded on two of the three inputs. Both 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 →
100 community nonprofits are registered in Ottawa
5.4 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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.5%
11.5% of Ottawa’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 Ottawa’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Reddick Public Library District serves 23,958 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Reddick Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
116K 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 Ottawa’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 3 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
Reddick Public Library District, 1010 Canal Street, Ottawa.
No late fees. Good at every Reddick Public Library District branch.
New in Ottawa? The Handbook →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 $1.80 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ottawa cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 5,009 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rutland Township | Marseilles Public Library | 2.9 | 37 | B |
| Ottawa | Reddick Public Library District fine-free | — | 63 | A |
| Ottawa Township | Reddick Public Library District fine-free | — | 63 | A |
| Dayton | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Naplate | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Wallace Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Dayton Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
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. Reddick Public Library District serves 23,958 people in and around Ottawa, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Ottawa.
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 Ottawa
Does Ottawa have a public library?
Yes. Reddick Public Library District, 1010 Canal Street, serves 23,958 people in and around Ottawa (the survey’s count) and is open about 63 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Reddick Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Ottawa’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 4.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Ottawa’s civic life grade?
A Ottawa is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life, #41 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 Ottawa.
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.