Photo: Mpen320 · CC BY-SA 4.0Wood Dale’s library runs 75 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Wood Dale Public Library District serves Wood Dale’s 12,866 residents. Last year it lent 75K print books and media and logged 58K visits.
Wood Dale’s library, in brief
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Wood Dale Public Library District ran 961 programs last year, about 18 a week. That’s 75 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 16,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Wood Dale invests in its library
Wood Dale Public Library District spends $239 per resident a year, about six times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (85%) 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 Wood Dale’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Wood Dale is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns, #554 of 754 in Illinois. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($69K–$114K) 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 →
29 community nonprofits are registered in Wood Dale
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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.1%
5.1% of Wood Dale’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 Wood Dale’s residents live; 2022.
About 11 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Wood Dale Public Library District serves 12,866 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
75K 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 Wood Dale’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 68K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
Find it
Wood Dale Public Library District, 520 North Wood Dale Road, Wood Dale.
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 Wood Dale cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $3.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.1M 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 3,261 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Wood Dale ranks 4th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Grove Village | Elk Grove Village Public Library fine-free | 18.7 | 72 | D |
| Itasca | Itasca Community Library fine-free | 8.6 | 65 | B+ |
| Addison | Addison Public Library fine-free | 6.4 | 66 | C− |
| Wood Dale | Wood Dale Public Library District fine-free | 5.8 | 58 | C− |
| Bensenville | Bensenville Community Public Library District fine-free | 3.5 | 66 | 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 Wood Dale
Does Wood Dale have a public library?
Yes. Wood Dale Public Library District, 520 North Wood Dale Road, serves Wood Dale’s 12,866 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wood Dale Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Wood Dale’s library?
It logged 4.5 visits and lent 5.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Wood Dale’s civic life grade?
C− Wood Dale is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns on civic life, #554 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 Wood Dale.
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.