Photo: Kelly Martin · CC BY-SA 3.0Park Ridge’s library lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Park Ridge Public Library serves Park Ridge’s 39,656 residents. Last year it lent 606K print books and media and logged 283K visits.
What Park Ridge’s library is like
Park Ridge uses its library more than almost any town its size
Park Ridge Public Library logs 7.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 15 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 ↓
Park Ridge out-borrows every town next door
At 15 loans per resident, Park Ridge leads the four towns here. The closest is Maine Township, at 11. Libraries next door ↓
Top 10% in Illinois for borrowing
Park Ridge ranks #19 of 259 Illinois towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 15 items per resident, more than at 97% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Park Ridge Public Library ran 1,474 programs last year, about 28 a week. That’s 37 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 41,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 68 hours a week
Park Ridge Public Library is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 171 items go out. The building ↓
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 Park Ridge’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Park Ridge is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #110 of 754 in Illinois. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
170 community nonprofits are registered in Park Ridge
4.4 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 (21 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.7%
8.7% of Park Ridge’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 Park Ridge’s residents live; 2022.
About 13 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.
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.
Park Ridge Public Library serves 39,656 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 171 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
606K 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 Park Ridge’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 168K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.6 times last year, on average.
Find it
Park Ridge Public Library, 20 South Prospect Avenue, Park Ridge.
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 $2.86 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Park Ridge cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $12M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.3M 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 17,415 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Park Ridge borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park Ridge | Park Ridge Public Library fine-free | 15.3 | 68 | A− |
| Maine Township | Des Plaines Public Library fine-free | 11.0 | 72 | C− |
| Des Plaines | Des Plaines Public Library fine-free | 11.0 | 72 | C+ |
| Chicago | Chicago Public Library fine-free | 3.9 | 72 | C− |
| Niles | Niles-Maine District Library fine-free | — | 64 | D |
| Norwood Park Township | Eisenhower Public Library District | — | 65 | C |
| Leyden Township | Northlake Public Library District fine-free | — | 67 | D− |
| Rosemont | 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.
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 Park Ridge
Does Park Ridge have a public library?
Yes. Park Ridge Public Library, 20 South Prospect Avenue, serves Park Ridge’s 39,656 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Park Ridge Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Park Ridge’s library?
It logged 7.1 visits and lent 15.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Park Ridge’s civic life grade?
A− Park Ridge is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on civic life, #110 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 Park Ridge.
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.