Genoa Public Library

What Genoa Public Library does

Genoa Public Library District is a special-district public library established in April 1922 by Chapter BG of the P.E.O. Sisterhood and currently operating as a tax-supported unit of local government in Genoa, DeKalb County, Illinois. The library serves district residents through a single branch at 240 W Main Street, issuing free library cards to in-district households and fee-based cards to non-residents. Its core services include lending of physical and digital materials, public computer and Wi-Fi access, printing/copying/fax/scan, exam proctoring, meeting room use, and a calendar of community programs (Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, The Inventor's Lab STEM Club, Storytime, ESL classes, Elder Care Services, summer reading). Customer segments are split horizontally across general residents, youth/children, and adults/seniors.

The library's technical backbone is the PrairieCat consortium integrated library system, which provides the shared catalog, circulation, and interlibrary loan functionality across northern Illinois. This is extended by Find More Illinois (Agshareit-powered discovery across non-PrairieCat Illinois libraries), Explore More Illinois for museum/attraction passes, and a PrairieCat Mobile App for patron account access. The public-facing website is built on Streamline, a CMS platform designed for special districts; Aira provides on-demand live visual interpreters for ADA accessibility. There are no proprietary AI/ML components; technology adoption is confined to mainstream consortium and accessibility tooling.

Revenue is dominated by local property taxes (~86% of receipts in FY2024, $284,928 of $331,591), supplemented by state per-capita grants, library fees and fines, rental income from a library-owned apartment, and gifts/donations. Total receipts were $313,604 (FY2023), $331,591 (FY2024), and $341,272 (FY2025), with FY2024 disbursements of $311,374 and a cash balance of approximately $362,656-$378,029 at year-end. The library is staffed by 8 employees (3 full-time, 5 part-time) led by Director Jen Barton since July 2011, governed by a seven-member elected Board of Trustees serving six-year terms. Pricing for patrons is effectively freemium for district residents, with a transactional fee schedule for non-residents and ancillary services (printing, fax, FOIA copies beyond 50 pages).

Name

Genoa Public Library

Legal name

Genoa Public Library District

Website

https://genoalibrary.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1922

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Genoa Public Library District is a tax-supported special-district public library serving residents of Genoa, Illinois with physical and digital lending, programming, and community services, delivered through a single branch and the PrairieCat consortium network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Library Services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (519210), Libraries and Archives (51921)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Libraries & Information Services (BPAIACAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Library Operations & Community Branch Management (EDAEAGAC), Library-Based Learning Programs (Public Libraries) (EDAAAFAA), Interlibrary Loan (ILL) & Resource Sharing Operations (EDAEAGAK)

Keywords

• Public library services
• Community lending programs
• Children's literacy programs
• Digital library resources
• Interlibrary loan services

Headquarters

HQ city

Genoa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Property Tax Revenue: Primary funding source through local property taxes levied on property within the Genoa Public Library District boundaries. Tax revenues constitute the majority of operating income.
2. Library Fees & Fines: Revenue from overdue fines, printing/copying services, fax services, and other patron fees.
3. Grants: State per capita grants and other government grants supporting library operations and programs.
4. Apartment Rental Income: Rental income from library-owned apartment property contributing to operational revenue.
5. Gifts & Donations: Donations and gifts from patrons and community members supporting library programs and services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Genoa Public Library District is a tax-supported special district library that provides free lending of physical and digital materials, computer and Wi-Fi access, printing/copying/faxing, exam proctoring, and meeting room use to residents of the district. It also delivers community programs including children's storytime, STEM Club, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, ESL classes, Elder Care Services, and museum/attraction passes. Digital access is enabled through the PrairieCat online catalog, PrairieCat Mobile App, and Find More Illinois interlibrary loan system.

Product overview

Genoa Public Library District offers a traditional public library service with a digital-first access layer. Its core product portfolio centers on physical and digital lending (books, media, eResources), patron account management via the PrairieCat catalog system (with a mobile app), and community programming. Programs include youth services (The Inventor's Lab STEM Club, Storytime, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten), adult education (ESL classes, Elder Care Services), and access programs (Museum & Attraction Passes via Explore More Illinois). The library also provides on-site services including public computers and Wi-Fi, printing/copying/faxing, exam proctoring, and meeting room use. A notable digital feature is the Find More Illinois integration, which extends patron access to materials from other Illinois library systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PrairieCat Catalog & Account Access Online public catalog enabling patrons to search the library's holdings, place holds, manage checkouts, and access their library accounts.
• PrairieCat Mobile App Mobile application providing patrons with on-the-go access to library account management and catalog searching.
• Computers & Wi-Fi On-site public computer terminals and wireless internet access provided free of charge to library patrons.
• Print, Copy, Fax & Scan Fee-based document services including printing, photocopying, faxing, and scanning available to library patrons on-site.
• eResources Digital lending collection including e-books, e-audiobooks, and electronic databases accessible online via platforms such as Overdrive.
• Meeting Room Use Reservable meeting room facilities made available to community members and groups for events and gatherings.
• Exam Proctoring Supervised exam administration services provided to students and other individuals who require proctored testing.
• The Inventor's Lab STEM Club Hands-on STEM programming for youth held regularly at the library, covering science, technology, engineering, and mathematics activities.
• Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Community program that mails free, age-appropriate books to young children each month to support early childhood literacy.
• 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Early literacy program encouraging families to read 1,000 books with their children before the child starts kindergarten.
• Museum & Attraction Passes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• PrairieCatcoreTechnology or IntegrationPrairieCat is a library consortium providing integrated library system services. Genoa Public Library participates as a member, enabling shared catalog, circulation, and interlibrary loan services across member libraries in northern Illinois.
• Find More IllinoismajorTechnology or IntegrationFind More Illinois is a statewide resource sharing initiative that enables patrons to search and request materials from multiple Illinois library catalogs through a single interface, expanding discovery and interlibrary loan capabilities.
• StreamlinecoreTechnology or IntegrationStreamline provides website technology platform specifically designed for special districts, powering the library's public-facing website and administrative tools.
• Northern Illinois Library SystemmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistorical partnership (since 1967) with Northern Illinois Library System providing access to art, sculpture, films, talking books, large print books, and reference materials through the system.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• PrairieCat: Library consortium providing the integrated library system used by GPLD and ~150+ other Illinois libraries. Not a peer in service delivery but a core technology/infrastructure provider enabling shared catalog and circulation across member libraries.

Direct peers

• Hampshire Public Library: Public library in Hampshire, Illinois (Kane County) serving a comparable small-town population. Operates with similar rural/small-municipality profile and offers broadly equivalent service mix.
• Rochelle Public Library: Public library in Rochelle, Illinois, within the PrairieCat consortium footprint. Comparable small-city library district with similar programming scope, tax funding model, and digital catalog offering.
• Sycamore Public Library: Public library serving Sycamore, also in DeKalb County, Illinois. Operates as a special district library like GPLD, with a comparable population base, similar mix of children's/adult programming, and overlapping PrairieCat consortium membership.
• Marengo Public Library District: Public library district in Marengo, Illinois (McHenry County). Comparable scale, governance structure (special district), and community programming focus. Shares the PrairieCat consortium connection.
• Sandwich Public Library District: Public library district in Sandwich, Illinois — DeKalb County neighbor. Special-district governance model with similar tax-funding structure, program mix (youth, adult, community), and consortium membership.
• DeKalb Public Library: Public library serving the DeKalb Public Library District in DeKalb County, Illinois — the same county as Genoa. Provides directly comparable services (lending, digital resources, community programming) to a larger population base, making it the most natural peer for benchmarking scale and program breadth.

Broad incumbents

• Northern Illinois Library System: Regional library system serving northern Illinois — including Genoa Public Library since 1967. Acts as a backbone organization providing shared resources, training, and access to materials; an upstream counterpart rather than a competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/genoa-public-library

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Genoa Public Library