Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Dongola’s library logs 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Dongola Public Library District serves 1,781 people in and around Dongola. Last year it lent 1,032 print books and media and logged 1,352 visits.
Dongola’s library, in brief
Dongola Public Library District is used less than most libraries its size
Dongola Public Library District records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Open only about 19 hours a week
The Dongola branch keeps short hours: about 19 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Dongola Public Library District serves 1,781 people in and around Dongola, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Dongola’s civic life grade
Dongola 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Dongola Public Library District serves 1,781 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Dongola Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,032 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 Dongola’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
22 programs a year
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.
Find it
Dongola Public Library District, 114 North East Front Street, Dongola.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dongola cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $66K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $27K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $66K 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 206 cardholders ÷ 12.
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.
- System-wide. Dongola Public Library District serves 1,781 people in and around Dongola, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Dongola.
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 Dongola
Does Dongola have a public library?
Yes. Dongola Public Library District, 114 North East Front Street, serves 1,781 people in and around Dongola (the survey’s count) and is open about 19 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dongola Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Dongola’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 0.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Dongola’s civic life grade?
Dongola 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 Dongola.
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.