Photo: DFHoulihan · CC BY-SA 4.0River Forest’s library logs 9.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
River Forest Public Library serves River Forest’s 11,717 residents. Last year it lent 161K print books and media and logged 107K visits.
What River Forest’s library is like
River Forest uses its library more than almost any town its size
River Forest Public Library logs 9.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 14 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 96% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Top 10% in Illinois for library use
River Forest ranks #13 of 260 Illinois towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 9.2 visits per resident, more than at 96% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
River Forest out-borrows every town next door
At 13.7 loans per resident, River Forest leads the six towns here. The closest is River Forest Township, at 13.7. Libraries next door ↓
Open about 67 hours a week
River Forest Public Library is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 46 items go out. The building ↓
River Forest invests in its library
River Forest Public Library spends $124 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (94%) 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.
What’s behind River Forest’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, River Forest is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #17 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 →
65 community nonprofits are registered in River Forest
5.4 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 (15 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
13.4%
13.4% of River Forest’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 River Forest’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 46 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
River Forest Public Library serves 11,717 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Books and media off the shelf
161K 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 River Forest’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 46K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.5 times last year, on average.
About 4 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
River Forest Public Library, 735 Lathrop Avenue, River Forest.
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 $2.06 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average River Forest cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.5M 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 5,222 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
River Forest borrows the most per resident of the 6 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| River Forest | River Forest Public Library fine-free | 13.7 | 67 | A+ |
| River Forest Township | River Forest Public Library fine-free | 13.7 | 67 | — graded with its twin city |
| Proviso Township | Forest Park Public Library fine-free | 7.2 | 69 | C− |
| Forest Park | Forest Park Public Library fine-free | 7.2 | 69 | A |
| Melrose Park | Melrose Park Public Library fine-free | 1.0 | 42 | D− |
| Maywood | Maywood Public Library District | 0.6 | 55 | 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 River Forest
Does River Forest have a public library?
Yes. River Forest Public Library, 735 Lathrop Avenue, serves River Forest’s 11,717 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is River Forest Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is River Forest’s library?
It logged 9.2 visits and lent 13.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is River Forest’s civic life grade?
A+ River Forest is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on civic life, #17 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 River Forest.
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.