Photo: Keybdn at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0St. Charles’ library lends 16 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Saint Charles Public Library District serves 55,889 people in and around St. Charles. Last year it lent 867K print books and media and logged 312K visits.
St. Charles’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
Saint Charles Public Library District logs 5.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 16 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Open about 72 hours a week
The St. Charles branch is open about 72 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
A well-funded system
Saint Charles Public Library District spends $132 per resident a year, about three times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (93%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Programs draw a crowd
45,000 people came to the system’s 1,751 programs last year: 0.8 per resident, against a typical 0.3, more than at 91% of similar-size libraries. 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; Saint Charles Public Library District serves 55,889 people in and around St. Charles, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind St. Charles’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, St. Charles is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #170 of 754 in Illinois. St. Charles is graded on two of the three inputs. Both 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 →
129 community nonprofits are registered in St. Charles
3.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (28 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.6%
9.6% of St. Charles’ 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 St. Charles’ residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
867K 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 St. Charles’ library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Saint Charles Public Library District serves 55,889 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 232 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Saint Charles Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
About 14 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
Saint Charles Public Library District, One South Sixth Avenue, Saint Charles.
No late fees. Good at every Saint Charles Public Library District branch.
New in St. Charles? The Handbook →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 $2.13 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average St. Charles cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $7.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $16M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $7.4M 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 30,827 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Chicago | West Chicago Public Library District fine-free | 4.3 | 65 | C− |
| St. Charles | Saint Charles Public Library District fine-free | — | 72 | B+ |
| St. Charles Township | Saint Charles Public Library District fine-free | — | 72 | B+ |
| Geneva | Geneva Public Library District fine-free | — | 69 | A |
| Geneva Township | Geneva Public Library District fine-free | — | 69 | A |
| Wayne | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Campton Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Campton Hills | None of its own | — | — | B− |
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.
- System-wide. Saint Charles Public Library District serves 55,889 people in and around St. Charles, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just St. Charles.
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 St. Charles
Does St. Charles have a public library?
Yes. Saint Charles Public Library District, One South Sixth Avenue, serves 55,889 people in and around St. Charles (the survey’s count) and is open about 72 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Saint Charles Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is St. Charles’ library?
It logged 5.6 visits and lent 15.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is St. Charles’ civic life grade?
B+ St. Charles is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on civic life, #170 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 St. Charles.
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.