Vernon Hills’ library is a branch of Cook Memorial Public Library District, which lends more per resident than 93% of systems its size
Vernon Hills’s library is the Aspen Drive Library, a branch of Cook Memorial Public Library District, which serves 61,297 people and lent 720K items last year.
Vernon Hills’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Cook Memorial Public Library District system logs 7.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 93% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
The Cook Memorial Public Library District system spends $171 per resident a year, about four times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (93%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 68 hours a week
The Vernon Hills branch is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
Programs draw a crowd
48,000 people came to the system’s 1,475 programs last year: 0.8 per resident, against a typical 0.3, more than at 90% 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; Vernon Hills’s library is a branch of Cook Memorial Public Library District, so they cover the whole system (61,297 people), not just the Vernon Hills branch.
What’s behind Vernon Hills’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Vernon Hills is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #281 of 754 in Illinois. Vernon Hills is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Vernon Hills’ count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
57 community nonprofits are registered in Vernon Hills
2.1 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 (19 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.
12.5%
12.5% of Vernon Hills’ 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 Vernon Hills’ residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 93 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Cook Memorial Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
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.
Cook Memorial Public Library District serves 61,297 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Books and media off the shelf
720K 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 Vernon Hills’ library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 9 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
Aspen Drive Library, 701 Aspen Drive, Vernon Hills.
No late fees. Good at every Cook Memorial Public Library District branch.
New in Vernon Hills? 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 $1.22 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Vernon Hills cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $13M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1M 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 24,774 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mundelein | Fremont Public Library District fine-free | 12.4 | 67 | C− |
| Vernon Hills | Aspen Drive Library fine-free | — | 68 | B |
| Lincolnshire | Vernon Area Public Library District fine-free | — | 69 | A− |
| Libertyville | Cook Memorial Public Library District fine-free | — | 68 | A |
| Buffalo Grove | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Mettawa | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Indian Creek | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Long Grove | 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.
- System-wide. Aspen Drive Library is one branch of Cook Memorial Public Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 61,297 people it serves.
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 Vernon Hills
Does Vernon Hills have a public library?
Yes: Aspen Drive Library, 701 Aspen Drive, is a branch of Cook Memorial Public Library District, which serves 61,297 people. The branch is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cook Memorial Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Vernon Hills’ library?
It logged 7.1 visits and lent 11.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Vernon Hills’ civic life grade?
B Vernon Hills is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on civic life, #281 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 Vernon Hills.
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.