Henry N. Frentess Farmstead · Photo: Boscophotos · CC BY-SA 3.0East Dubuque’s library runs 5.2 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
East Dubuque District Library serves 4,205 people in and around East Dubuque. Last year it lent 15K print books and media and logged 9,681 visits.
What East Dubuque’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, East Dubuque District Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
34% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 36%. 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; East Dubuque District Library serves 4,205 people in and around East Dubuque, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind East Dubuque’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, East Dubuque is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns. East Dubuque 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in East Dubuque
4.1 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.1%
9.1% of East Dubuque’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 East Dubuque’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
East Dubuque District Library serves 4,205 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole East Dubuque District Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
15K 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 East Dubuque’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
Find it
East Dubuque District Library, 122 Wisconsin Avenue, East Dubuque.
No late fees. Good at every East Dubuque District Library branch.
New in East Dubuque? The Handbook →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 $1.05 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average East Dubuque cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $249K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $261K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $249K 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 824 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Dubuque | East Dubuque District Library fine-free | — | 49 | B+ |
| Dunleith Township | East Dubuque District Library fine-free | — | 49 | B− |
| Jamestown | 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.
- System-wide. East Dubuque District Library serves 4,205 people in and around East Dubuque, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just East Dubuque.
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 East Dubuque
Does East Dubuque have a public library?
Yes. East Dubuque District Library, 122 Wisconsin Avenue, serves 4,205 people in and around East Dubuque (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is East Dubuque District Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is East Dubuque’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 3.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is East Dubuque’s civic life grade?
B+ East Dubuque is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 East Dubuque.
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.