Lyons’ library runs 168 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Lyons Township District Library serves 3,752 people in and around Lyons. Last year it lent 8,995 books, movies and e-books and logged 8,810 visits.
What Lyons’s library is like
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Lyons Township District Library ran 630 programs last year, about 12 a week. That’s 168 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 5,221 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
3,340 cards for 3,752 people, or 89%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 7% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 87% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; Lyons Township District Library serves 3,752 people in and around Lyons, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Lyons’ civic life grade
Lyons isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
About 6 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Lyons Township District Library serves 3,752 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lyons Township District Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
8,995 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
601 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Lyons Township District Library, 240 East Bridge Street, Lyons.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Lyons Township District Library branch.
New in Lyons? 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 $1.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lyons cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $173K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $202K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $173K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 3,340 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Lyons Township District Library serves 3,752 people in and around Lyons, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Lyons.
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 Lyons
Does Lyons have a public library?
Yes. Lyons Township District Library, 240 East Bridge Street, serves 3,752 people in and around Lyons (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lyons Township District Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Lyons’ library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 2.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Lyons’ civic life grade?
Lyons isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Lyons.
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.