Photo: Teemu08 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0West Chicago’s library runs 22 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
West Chicago Public Library District serves West Chicago’s 28,928 residents. Last year it lent 123K print books and media and logged 64K visits.
The short version on West Chicago’s library
Open about 65 hours a week
West Chicago Public Library District is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 37 items go out. The building ↓
West Chicago invests in its library
West Chicago Public Library District spends $93 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (91%) 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 West Chicago’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, West Chicago is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns, #620 of 754 in Illinois. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
West Chicago’s 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($75K–$125K) 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 →
65 community nonprofits are registered in West Chicago
2.6 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 (29 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.0%
6.0% of West Chicago’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 West Chicago’s residents live; 2022.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Chicago cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.7M 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 10,208 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
West Chicago Public Library District serves 28,928 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 37 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
123K 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 West Chicago’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 83K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time 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.
Find it
West Chicago Public Library District, 118 West Washington Street, West Chicago.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
West Chicago ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batavia | Batavia Public Library District | 15.5 | 67 | A |
| Wayne Township | Bartlett Public Library District | 7.4 | 68 | D |
| West Chicago | West Chicago Public Library District fine-free | 4.3 | 65 | C− |
| St. Charles | Saint Charles Public Library District fine-free | — | 72 | B+ |
| Geneva Township | Geneva Public Library District fine-free | — | 69 | A |
| St. Charles Township | Saint Charles Public Library District fine-free | — | 72 | B+ |
| Wayne | None of its own | — | — | A− |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. West Chicago Public Library District counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 West Chicago
Does West Chicago have a public library?
Yes. West Chicago Public Library District, 118 West Washington Street, serves West Chicago’s 28,928 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is West Chicago Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is West Chicago’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 4.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is West Chicago’s civic life grade?
C− West Chicago is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns on civic life, #620 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 West Chicago.
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.