Photo: Paul Sableman from St. Louis, MO · CC BY 2.0Du Quoin’s library runs 19 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Duquoin Public Library serves Du Quoin’s 5,827 residents. Last year it lent 21K print books and media and logged 17K visits.
Du Quoin’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Duquoin Public Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 11% of the people Duquoin Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Illinois pays a big share
22% of the budget comes from the state, and 65% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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 Du Quoin’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Du Quoin is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #335 of 754 in Illinois. Du Quoin’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
37 community nonprofits are registered in Du Quoin
6.4 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 (16 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.9%
5.9% of Du Quoin’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 Du Quoin’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Duquoin Public Library serves 5,827 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
21K 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 Du Quoin’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 26K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Find it
Duquoin Public Library, 28 South Washington Street, Duquoin.
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 $3.12 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Du Quoin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $121K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $379K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $121K 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 669 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Du Quoin | Duquoin Public Library fine-free | 3.6 | 41 | B− |
| St. Johns | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Duquoin Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 Du Quoin
Does Du Quoin have a public library?
Yes. Duquoin Public Library, 28 South Washington Street, serves Du Quoin’s 5,827 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Duquoin Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Du Quoin’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 3.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Du Quoin’s civic life grade?
B− Du Quoin is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on civic life, #335 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 Du Quoin.
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.