East Peoria’s library lends 7.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Fondulac Public Library District serves East Peoria’s 20,276 residents. Last year it lent 153K print books and media and logged 79K visits.
East Peoria’s library, in brief
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people Fondulac Public Library District serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
East Peoria invests in its library
Fondulac Public Library District spends $102 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. 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 Peoria’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, East Peoria is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns, #322 of 754 in Illinois. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; East Peoria’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
58 community nonprofits are registered in East Peoria
2.6 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 (18 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.1%
9.1% of East Peoria’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 Peoria’s residents live; 2022.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average East Peoria cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.1M 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 3,724 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Fondulac Public Library District serves 20,276 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 48 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
153K 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 Peoria’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 104K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 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
Fondulac Public Library District, 400 Richland Street, East Peoria.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
East Peoria ranks 2nd of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morton | Morton Public Library District | 14.7 | 58 | B |
| East Peoria | Fondulac Public Library District fine-free | 7.5 | 61 | B− |
| Fondulac Township | Fondulac Public Library District fine-free | 7.5 | 61 | C+ |
| Washington | Washington District Library fine-free | 6.6 | 59 | A− |
| Creve Coeur | Creve Coeur Public Library District | 6.0 | 41 | B− |
| Peoria City Township | Peoria Public Library fine-free | 4.7 | 52 | B− |
| Peoria | Peoria Public Library fine-free | 4.7 | 52 | 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.
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 Peoria
Does East Peoria have a public library?
Yes. Fondulac Public Library District, 400 Richland Street, serves East Peoria’s 20,276 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Fondulac Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is East Peoria’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 7.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is East Peoria’s civic life grade?
B− East Peoria is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns on civic life, #322 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 Peoria.
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.