Photo: Anonymous · CC BY-SA 4.0Wilmington’s library lends 6.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Wilmington Public Library District serves 8,970 people in and around Wilmington. Last year it lent 56K print books and media and logged 34K visits.
The short version on Wilmington’s library
A well-funded system
Wilmington Public Library District spends $105 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (89%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
65% of the 340 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.2 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Wilmington Public Library District serves 8,970 people in and around Wilmington, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Wilmington’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Wilmington is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns, #614 of 754 in Illinois. Wilmington is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Wilmington’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($50K–$83K) 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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Wilmington
2.7 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.1%
6.1% of Wilmington’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 Wilmington’s residents live; 2022.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.09 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wilmington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $944K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $944K 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 2,384 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Wilmington Public Library District serves 8,970 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Wilmington Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
56K 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 Wilmington’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 4 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
Wilmington Public Library District, 201 South Kankakee Street, Wilmington.
No late fees. Good at every Wilmington Public Library District branch.
New in Wilmington? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington | Wilmington Public Library District fine-free | — | 63 | C− |
| Wilmington Township | Wilmington Public Library District fine-free | — | 63 | — graded with its twin city |
| Lakewood Shores | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Custer Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Wesley Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Florence Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Wilmington Public Library District serves 8,970 people in and around Wilmington, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Wilmington.
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 Wilmington
Does Wilmington have a public library?
Yes. Wilmington Public Library District, 201 South Kankakee Street, serves 8,970 people in and around Wilmington (the survey’s count) and is open about 63 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wilmington Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Wilmington’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 6.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Wilmington’s civic life grade?
C− Wilmington is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns on civic life, #614 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 Wilmington.
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.