Photo: Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 4.0South Holland’s library runs 31 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
South Holland Public Library serves South Holland’s 21,465 residents. Last year it lent 53K print books and media and logged 76K visits.
What South Holland’s library is like
Few residents carry a card
Only 19% of the people South Holland Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
A place to get online
South Holland Public Library logs about 717 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 40 public computers. That’s 12 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
South Holland invests in its library
South Holland Public Library spends $95 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (96%) 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 South Holland’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, South Holland is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns, #375 of 754 in Illinois. South Holland’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($64K–$107K) 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 →
148 community nonprofits are registered in South Holland
7.1 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 (88 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 20 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.0%
3.0% of South Holland’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 South Holland’s residents live; 2022.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Holland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $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 4,051 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
South Holland Public Library serves 21,465 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
53K 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 South Holland’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 60K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time 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
South Holland Public Library, 16250 Wausau Avenue, South Holland.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
South Holland ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thornton | Thornton Public Library | 3.0 | 52 | C+ |
| Lansing | Lansing Public Library fine-free | 2.8 | 60 | C |
| South Holland | South Holland Public Library fine-free | 2.5 | 59 | C+ |
| Calumet City | Calumet City Public Library | 0.7 | 53 | D |
| Phoenix | Phoenix Public Library District | 0.2 | 48 | D− |
| Harvey | Harvey Public Library District | — | 44 | D− |
| Dolton | Dolton Public Library District | — | 54 | D |
| East Hazel Crest | 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 South Holland
Does South Holland have a public library?
Yes. South Holland Public Library, 16250 Wausau Avenue, serves South Holland’s 21,465 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South Holland Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is South Holland’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 2.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is South Holland’s civic life grade?
C+ South Holland is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on civic life, #375 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 South Holland.
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.