Photo: Zol87 · CC BY-SA 2.0Winnetka’s library lends 19 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District serves Winnetka’s 18,495 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 354K print books and media and logged 182K visits.
Winnetka’s library, in brief
Winnetka uses its library more than almost any town its size
Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District logs 9.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 19 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Winnetka invests in its library
Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District spends $196 per resident a year, about five times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (89%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 66 hours a week
The main library is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 51 items go out. The buildings ↓
Programs draw a crowd
22,000 people came to the library’s 869 programs last year: 1.2 per resident, against a typical 0.4, more than at 92% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A place to get online
Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District logs about 732 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 33 public computers. That’s 14 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Winnetka’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Winnetka is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #66 of 754 in Illinois. Winnetka is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Winnetka’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
130 community nonprofits are registered in Winnetka
10.4 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 (12 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.
8.1%
8.1% of Winnetka’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 Winnetka’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
354K 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 Winnetka’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 94K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.8 times last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District serves 18,495 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 51 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 9 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.
2 places to borrow in Winnetka
Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District, 768 Oak Street, Winnetka.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Winnetka
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.95 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Winnetka cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $3.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.6M 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 9,277 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Winnetka ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Trier Township | Wilmette Public Library District fine-free | 23.6 | 71 | A |
| Winnetka | Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District fine-free | 19.2 | 66 | A |
| Northfield | Northfield Branch Library fine-free | 19.2 | 67 | C |
| Glencoe | Glencoe Public Library fine-free | 18.5 | 67 | A |
| Kenilworth | 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.
- 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 Winnetka
Does Winnetka have a public library?
Yes. Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District, 768 Oak Street, serves Winnetka’s 18,495 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Winnetka’s library?
It logged 9.8 visits and lent 19.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Winnetka’s civic life grade?
A Winnetka is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #66 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 Winnetka.
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.