Bowling Township has no public library of its own; the nearest is Southwest Branch Library in Rock Island, 4.1 miles away
Bowling Township doesn’t have a public library of its own. The closest is Southwest Branch Library in Rock Island, 4.1 miles away. Many small-town libraries give cards to neighbors, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
C+Civic lifeAhead of 41% of U.S. towns · #399 of 754 in Illinois. Nonprofits and volunteering.Getting a library card from Bowling Township
Bowling Township borrows from the libraries next door
Bowling Township has no public library of its own, but four libraries are within 10 miles, the closest being Southwest Branch Library in Rock Island (4.1 miles). Many small-town libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead. Nearest libraries ↓
Bowling Township isn’t the only town nearby without one
Rural Township, Edgington Township and Preemption Township don’t have a public library of their own either. Among the towns next door, Blackhawk Township (Southwest Branch Library) and Andalusia Township (Andalusia Township Library) do. Libraries next door ↓
The closest isn’t the one open longest
Southwest Branch Library is nearest, open about 44 hours a week. Watts-Midtown Branch Library, 8.1 miles away, is open about 56 hours a week, so it may be easier to fit in. Nearest libraries ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Distances are straight-line from the town center.
What’s behind Bowling Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bowling Township is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns, #399 of 754 in Illinois. Bowling Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Bowling Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($76K–$127K) 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 →
Bowling Township has few registered community nonprofits
0.1 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.2%
12.2% of Bowling 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 Bowling Township’s residents live; 2022.
The closest is 4.1 miles away
Closest first, measured from the center of Bowling Township. Each one’s hours, and whether it charges late fines.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackhawk Township | Southwest Branch Library fine-free | 4.2 | 44 | A |
| Andalusia Township | Andalusia Township Library | 2.6 | 32 | C |
| Rural Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Edgington Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Preemption Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Coyne Center | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Oak Grove | 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Bowling Township
Does Bowling Township have a public library?
No. The closest is Southwest Branch Library in Rock Island, 4.1 miles from the town center. Many libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
What is Bowling Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Bowling Township is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns on civic life, #399 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 Bowling 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.