Blackhawk Township’s library runs 27 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Rock Island Public Library serves 37,108 people in and around Blackhawk Township. Last year it lent 154K print books and media and logged 120K visits.
What stands out about Blackhawk Township’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Blackhawk Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Blackhawk Township is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #22 of 754 in Illinois. Blackhawk Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both 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 →
59 community nonprofits are registered in Blackhawk Township
6.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
11.9%
11.9% of Blackhawk Township’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 Blackhawk Township’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Rock Island Public Library serves 37,108 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
154K 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 Blackhawk Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 162K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
Find it
Southwest Branch Library, 9010 Ridgewood Road, Rock Island.
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 $1.00 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Blackhawk Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3M 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 15,737 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Blackhawk Township ranks 3rd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coal Valley Township | Robert R. Jones Public Library District fine-free | 5.3 | 52 | — graded with its twin city |
| South Moline Township | Moline Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 61 | B |
| Blackhawk Township | Southwest Branch Library fine-free | 4.2 | 44 | A |
| South Rock Island Township | Watts-Midtown Branch Library fine-free | 4.2 | 56 | A− |
| Davenport | Davenport Public Library fine-free | 2.9 | 54 | B |
| Andalusia Township | Andalusia Township Library | 2.6 | 32 | C |
| Milan | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Bowling Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Oak Grove | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Rural Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Edgington Township | None of its own | — | — | 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 Blackhawk Township
Does Blackhawk Township have a public library?
Yes. Rock Island Public Library, 9010 Ridgewood Road, serves 37,108 people in and around Blackhawk Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rock Island Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Blackhawk Township’s library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 4.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Blackhawk Township’s civic life grade?
A Blackhawk Township is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on civic life, #22 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 Blackhawk Township.
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.