Photo: Alan Light · CC BY 2.0East Moline’s library logs 2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
East Moline Public Library serves East Moline’s 21,374 residents. Last year it lent 55K print books and media and logged 43K visits.
East Moline’s library, in brief
Every town next door borrows more
East Moline’s library lends 2.6 items per resident. Each of the four neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Moline at 5.2. Libraries next door ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people East Moline Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Illinois pays a big share
24% of the budget comes from the state, and 66% 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 East Moline’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, East Moline is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #413 of 754 in Illinois. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; East Moline’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($46K–$77K) 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 →
51 community nonprofits are registered in East Moline
2.4 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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
11.3%
11.3% of East Moline’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 Moline’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
East Moline Public Library serves 21,374 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
55K 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 Moline’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 61K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
About 5 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.
Find it
East Moline Public Library, 745 Sixteenth Avenue, East Moline.
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 $1.16 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average East Moline cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $881K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $881K 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 3,945 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
East Moline ranks 5th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moline | Moline Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 61 | B+ |
| South Moline Township | Moline Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 61 | B |
| Silvis | Silvis Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 57 | B− |
| Hampton Township | Silvis Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 57 | B− |
| East Moline | East Moline Public Library fine-free | 2.6 | 54 | C+ |
| Moline Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Campbell's Island | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Barstow | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Hampton | None of its own | — | — | A− |
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 East Moline
Does East Moline have a public library?
Yes. East Moline Public Library, 745 Sixteenth Avenue, serves East Moline’s 21,374 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is East Moline Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is East Moline’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 2.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is East Moline’s civic life grade?
C+ East Moline is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on civic life, #413 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 East Moline.
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.