Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0East St. Louis Township’s library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
East Saint Louis Public Library serves 18,469 people in and around East St. Louis Township. Last year it logged 19K visits.
What stands out about East St. Louis Township’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind East St. Louis Township’s civic life grade
East St. Louis Township 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 5 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
East Saint Louis Public Library serves 18,469 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
A year at East St. Louis Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Loans aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 135 items borrowed against 19K visits, so we leave the count out.
Find it
East St. Louis Public Library, 5300 State Street, East St. Louis.
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 East St. Louis Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $474K.
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 539 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairview Heights | Fairview Heights Public Library | 3.8 | 54 | B− |
| Canteen Township | Fairmont City Library Center fine-free | 2.7 | 46 | D |
| Fairmont City | Fairmont City Library Center fine-free | 2.7 | 46 | C− |
| Belleville | Belleville Public Library fine-free | 2.1 | 60 | C |
| East St. Louis Township | East St. Louis Public Library | — | 58 | — graded with its twin city |
| East St. Louis | East St. Louis Public Library | — | 58 | C− |
| Centreville Township | Cahokia Public Library District | — | 49 | D |
| Cahokia Heights | Cahokia Public Library District | — | 49 | D− |
| Washington Park | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Stites Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sauget | 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. East Saint Louis Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- Loans left out. This year’s loan count is far below the library’s visits and shelves, so we leave it out.
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 St. Louis Township
Does East St. Louis Township have a public library?
Yes. East Saint Louis Public Library, 5300 State Street, serves 18,469 people in and around East St. Louis Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is East Saint Louis Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is East St. Louis Township’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is East St. Louis Township’s civic life grade?
East St. Louis Township 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 East St. Louis Township.
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.