Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 3.0Bettendorf’s library logs 5.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Bettendorf Public Library Information Center serves Bettendorf’s 39,102 residents. Last year it lent 360K print books and media and logged 213K visits.
The short version on Bettendorf’s library
Bettendorf out-borrows every town next door
At 9.2 loans per resident, Bettendorf leads the four towns here. The closest is South Moline Township, at 5.2. Libraries next door ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 55% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 19 items per child in Bettendorf last year. Kids & programs ↓
Bettendorf uses its library more than almost any town its size
Bettendorf Public Library Information Center logs 5.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 9.2 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Bettendorf invests in its library
Bettendorf Public Library Information Center spends $92 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (92%) 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 Bettendorf’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bettendorf is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns, #50 of 138 in Iowa. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
176 community nonprofits are registered in Bettendorf
4.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (27 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 7 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.1%
10.1% of Bettendorf’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.6% in the typical Iowa 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 Bettendorf’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Bettendorf Public Library Information Center serves 39,102 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 114 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
360K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 171K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.1 times last year, on average.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Bettendorf last year.
Find it
Bettendorf Public Library Information Center, 2950 Learning Campus Dr, Bettendorf.
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 $1.53 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bettendorf cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.5M 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 18,667 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Bettendorf borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bettendorf | Bettendorf Public Library Information Center fine-free | 9.2 | 61 | A− |
| South Moline Township | Moline Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 61 | B |
| Hampton Township | Silvis Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 57 | B− |
| Davenport | Davenport Public Library fine-free | 2.9 | 54 | B |
| Riverdale | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Moline Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Rock Island Arsenal | 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. The library didn’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 Bettendorf
Does Bettendorf have a public library?
Yes. Bettendorf Public Library Information Center, 2950 Learning Campus Dr, serves Bettendorf’s 39,102 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bettendorf Public Library Information Center fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Bettendorf’s library?
It logged 5.4 visits and lent 9.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Bettendorf’s civic life grade?
A− Bettendorf is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns on civic life, #50 of 138 in Iowa. 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 Bettendorf.
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.