Photo: Boscophotos · CC BY-SA 3.0Riverdale’s library lends 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Riverdale Public Library District serves Riverdale’s 10,758 residents. Last year it lent 5,613 print books and media and logged 13K visits.
Riverdale’s library, in brief
Riverdale Public Library District is used less than most libraries its size
Riverdale Public Library District records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 8% of the people Riverdale Public Library District serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Illinois pays a big share
20% of the budget comes from the state, and 78% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Riverdale Public Library District holds 22,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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 Riverdale’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Riverdale is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns, #721 of 754 in Illinois. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Riverdale’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($30K–$50K) 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Riverdale
2.5 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 (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.1%
2.1% of Riverdale’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 Riverdale’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Riverdale Public Library District serves 10,758 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
5,613 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 Riverdale’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Riverdale Public Library District, 208 West 144th Street, Riverdale.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Riverdale cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $602K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $118K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $602K 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 873 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Riverdale ranks 4th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thornton Township | Homewood Public Library District | 7.5 | 67 | D |
| Chicago | Chicago Public Library fine-free | 3.9 | 72 | C− |
| Blue Island | Blue Island Public Library fine-free | 2.5 | 64 | C− |
| Riverdale | Riverdale Public Library District fine-free | 0.5 | 43 | D− |
| Calumet Township | Calumet Park Public Library | 0.3 | 43 | D− |
| Dolton | Dolton Public Library District | — | 54 | D |
| Dixmoor | 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 Riverdale
Does Riverdale have a public library?
Yes. Riverdale Public Library District, 208 West 144th Street, serves Riverdale’s 10,758 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Riverdale Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Riverdale’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 0.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Riverdale’s civic life grade?
D− Riverdale is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns on civic life, #721 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 Riverdale.
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.