Shields Township’s library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Lake Forest Library serves 19,367 people in and around Shields Township. Last year it lent 232K print books and media and logged 157K visits.
The short version on Shields Township’s library
Shields Township uses its library more than almost any town its size
Lake Forest Library logs 8.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 93% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Shields Township invests in its library
Lake Forest Library spends $198 per resident a year, about five times the typical $43 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 67 hours a week
Lake Forest Library is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 66 items go out. The buildings ↓
A place to get online
Lake Forest Library logs about 879 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 47 public computers. That’s 17 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Shields Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Shields Township is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns, #484 of 754 in Illinois. Shields Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Shields Township’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($85K–$141K) 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 →
134 community nonprofits are registered in Shields Township
3.6 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 (17 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.5%
6.5% of Shields Township’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 Shields Township’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 66 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Lake Forest Library serves 19,367 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Books and media off the shelf
232K 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 Shields Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 120K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.9 times last year, on average.
About 6 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.
3 places to borrow in Shields Township
Lake Forest Library, 360 East Deerpath Road, Lake Forest.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Shields Township
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.34 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shields Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $3.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.8M 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 7,282 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Shields Township ranks 4th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Deerfield Township | Deerfield Public Library fine-free | 16.1 | 67 | A |
| Lake Bluff | Lake Bluff Public Library fine-free | 13.4 | 58 | A |
| Moraine Township | Highland Park Public Library fine-free | 12.3 | 68 | A− |
| Shields Township | Lake Forest Library fine-free | 12.0 | 67 | C |
| Lake Forest | Lake Forest Library fine-free | 12.0 | 67 | A+ |
| Waukegan Township | Waukegan Public Library fine-free | 1.5 | 54 | — graded with its twin city |
| North Chicago | North Chicago Public Library fine-free | 0.3 | 60 | D− |
| Libertyville Township | Cook Memorial Public Library District fine-free | — | 68 | B |
| Green Oaks | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Knollwood | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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 Shields Township
Does Shields Township have a public library?
Yes. Lake Forest Library, 360 East Deerpath Road, serves 19,367 people in and around Shields Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lake Forest Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Shields Township’s library?
It logged 8.1 visits and lent 12.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Shields Township’s civic life grade?
C Shields Township is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns on civic life, #484 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 Shields Township.
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.