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Eldorado IL Grand 1939Photo: Arthur Rothstein · Public domain
Eldorado Memorial Public Library District

Eldorado’s library runs 6 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size

Eldorado Memorial Public Library District serves 6,643 people in and around Eldorado. Last year it lent 18K print books and media and logged 19K visits.

1001 Grant Street, Eldorado 62930 · about 52 hours a week
C+Civic lifeAhead of 38% of U.S. towns · #436 of 754 in Illinois. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (618) 273-7922 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
18K
2.7 per resident
Visits a year
19K
2.8 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
40
about 1 a week · 726 attended
Cardholders
15%
1,010 cards
Open
52 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

Eldorado’s library, in brief

Below typical on every measure

Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Eldorado Memorial Public Library District sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓

Few programs for a library this size

Eldorado Memorial Public Library District offered 40 programs last year, 6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓

Few residents carry a card

Only 15% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓

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; Eldorado Memorial Public Library District serves 6,643 people in and around Eldorado, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Eldorado’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Eldorado is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns, #436 of 754 in Illinois. Eldorado is graded on two of the three inputs. Eldorado’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.

C+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Eldorado’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureBCommunity nonprofits4.0 per 1,000 residents · IL towns 3.4 · U.S. 3.7CVolunteering6.4% of adults 25–44 · IL towns 8.1% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 38%
FewerMore
Illinois towns we grade (754)Ahead of 42%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $28K–$46K (1,376)Ahead of 52%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Eldorado is small (3,579 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

15 community nonprofits are registered in Eldorado

4.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.27 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans61.59 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services20.53 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education20.53 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health20.53 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other20.53 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (8 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.

Volunteering

6.4%

6.4% of Eldorado’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 Eldorado’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

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.

Visits per resident 2.8 visits · typical 3Lower than 53%
Borrowing per resident 2.7 print items · typical 3.8Lower than 67%
Program attendance 0.1 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 88%
Programs offered 6 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Bottom 10%
Cardholders 15% of residents · typical 42%Bottom 10%
Spending $47 per resident · typical $43Higher than 56%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Eldorado Memorial Public Library District serves 6,643 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Eldorado Memorial Public Library District system. The library’s own count.

19K
visits
2.8 per resident
18K
loans, print + digital
2.7 per resident
40
programs & events
726 attended
1,010
library cards
15% of people served
Every open hour7items borrowed
Every week14people at a program
Every day1Wi-Fi sessions
4 staff (full-time equivalent)19 public computers
What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

18K 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 Eldorado’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.

Kids & programs

40 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Eldorado →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–57
Ages 6–117
Teens1
Adults5
All ages20
Little ones
0.1

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

726
people at programs
40
programs
The building

Find it

Eldorado Memorial Public Library District, 1001 Grant Street, Eldorado.

Directions(618) 273-7922
52
hours open a week
7,700
square feet
With a card

Good at every Eldorado Memorial Public Library District branch.

New in Eldorado? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Eldorado cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$47 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $313K.

Local taxes 86%State 6%Federal 1%Gifts & other 7%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $310K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $313K budget.

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 1,010 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

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. Eldorado Memorial Public Library District serves 6,643 people in and around Eldorado, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Eldorado.

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 Eldorado

Does Eldorado have a public library?

Yes. Eldorado Memorial Public Library District, 1001 Grant Street, serves 6,643 people in and around Eldorado (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Eldorado Memorial Public Library District fine-free?

It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Eldorado’s library?

It logged 2.8 visits and lent 2.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Eldorado’s civic life grade?

C+ Eldorado is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns on civic life, #436 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 Eldorado.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.