Thornton’s library logs 1.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Thornton Public Library serves Thornton’s 2,386 residents. Last year it lent 7,042 print books and media and logged 4,409 visits.
The short version on Thornton’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Thornton Public Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Thornton Public Library holds 45,000 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Thornton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Thornton is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns. Thornton’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($45K–$75K) 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Thornton
5.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.4%
6.4% of Thornton’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 Thornton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Thornton Public Library serves 2,386 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
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
7,042 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 Thornton’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 45K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 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
Thornton Public Library, 115 East Margaret Street, Thornton.
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 Thornton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $208K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $125K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $208K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 827 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Thornton ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homewood | Homewood Public Library District | 7.5 | 67 | A |
| Thornton Township | Homewood Public Library District | 7.5 | 67 | D |
| Thornton | Thornton Public Library | 3.0 | 52 | C+ |
| South Holland | South Holland Public Library fine-free | 2.5 | 59 | C+ |
| Bloom Township | Glenwood-Lynwood Public Library District fine-free | — | 51 | C− |
| Glenwood | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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 Thornton
Does Thornton have a public library?
Yes. Thornton Public Library, 115 East Margaret Street, serves Thornton’s 2,386 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Thornton Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Thornton’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 3.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Thornton’s civic life grade?
C+ Thornton is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Thornton.
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.