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Fitzpatrick HouseFitzpatrick House · Photo: Teemu08 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
White Oak Library District

Romeoville’s library runs 33 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size

White Oak Library District serves 76,850 people in and around Romeoville. Last year it lent 496K books, movies and e-books and logged 214K visits.

201 West Normantown Road, Romeoville 60446 · about 61 hours a week
D−Civic lifeAhead of 4% of U.S. towns · #717 of 754 in Illinois. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
496K
6.5 per resident
Visits a year
214K
2.8 per resident · Above typical (2.6)
Programs & events
2,531
about 49 a week · 48K attended
Cardholders
71%
54,823 cards
Open
61 hrs
a week
In brief

Romeoville’s library, in brief

White Oak Library District serves more than Romeoville

The library’s service area covers 76,850 people in and around Romeoville, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓

Most programs are for young children

68% of the 2,531 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 20 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓

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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Romeoville’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Romeoville is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns, #717 of 754 in Illinois. Romeoville is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.

D−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Romeoville’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 4%
FewerMore
Illinois towns we grade (754)Ahead of 5%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $80K–$133K (6,287)Ahead of 3%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($80K–$133K) 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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

69 community nonprofits are registered in Romeoville

1.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture90.22 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation110.27 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans70.17 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services120.29 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education110.27 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health20.05 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals40.10 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other130.32 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (20 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 10 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.

Volunteering

4.7%

4.7% of Romeoville’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 Romeoville’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 33 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Romeoville →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–51,029
Ages 6–11704
Teens232
Adults566
All ages0
Little ones
19.8

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

172K
kids’ books & media borrowed
48K
people at programs
2,531
programs
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.8 visits · typical 2.6Higher than 54%
Borrowing per resident 5.5 print items · typical 3.7Higher than 67%
Digital borrowing 0.9 e-items · typical 1.2Lower than 59%
Kids’ borrowing 2.2 kids’ items · typical 1.7Higher than 61%
Program attendance 0.6 attendees · typical 0.3Higher than 82%
Programs offered 32.9 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Higher than 89%
Cardholders 71% of residents · typical 39%Higher than 87%
Spending $67 per resident · typical $40Higher than 77%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

White Oak Library District serves 76,850 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 52 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

214K
visits
2.8 per resident
496K
loans, print + digital
6.5 per resident
2,531
programs & events
48K attended
55K
library cards
71% of people served
Every open hour52items borrowed
Every week931people at a program
Every day39Wi-Fi sessions
65 staff (full-time equivalent)171 public computers277K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

496K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

496Kloans
Books & media (adults) 51%Kids’ books & media 35%E-books, audio & streaming 14%
How hard the shelves work
1.5×

Each of the 277K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 times last year, on average.

From your couch

70,798 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.

The building

Find it

White Oak Library District, 201 West Normantown Road, Romeoville.

61
hours open a week
46,000
square feet
277K
books & media
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home.

New in Romeoville? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.53 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Romeoville cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$67 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $5.2M.

Local taxes 80%State 16%Gifts & other 4%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.2M 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 54,823 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Romeoville ranks 4th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
WoodridgeWoodridge Public Library fine-free12.570C
BolingbrookFountaindale Public Library District fine-free9.372D
LemontLemont Public Library District fine-free7.266A−
RomeovilleWhite Oak Library District fine-free6.561D−
Crest HillCrest Hill Branch fine-free6.561D

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).

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.

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 Romeoville

Does Romeoville have a public library?

Yes. White Oak Library District, 201 West Normantown Road, serves 76,850 people in and around Romeoville (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is White Oak Library District fine-free? Does it lend e-books?

Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Romeoville’s library?

It logged 2.8 visits and lent 6.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is Romeoville’s civic life grade?

D− Romeoville is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns on civic life, #717 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 Romeoville.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.