Photo: Languageteaching on Flickr · CC BY 2.0Eureka’s library lends 20 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Eureka Public Library District serves 6,553 people in and around Eureka. Last year it lent 131K print books and media and logged 75K visits.
What Eureka’s library is like
Eureka uses its library more than almost any town its size
Eureka Public Library District logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 20 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 95% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Programs draw a crowd
10,000 people came to the library’s 474 programs last year: 1.5 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 91% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Eureka Public Library District serves more than Eureka
The library’s service area covers 6,553 people in and around Eureka, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Eureka invests in its library
Eureka Public Library District spends $90 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 Eureka’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Eureka is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #90 of 754 in Illinois. Eureka is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Eureka’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
36 community nonprofits are registered in Eureka
7.2 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.2%
8.2% of Eureka’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 Eureka’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
131K 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 Eureka’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 47K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.8 times last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Eureka Public Library District serves 6,553 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 50 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 4 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
Eureka Public Library District, 202 South Main Street, Eureka.
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 $3.97 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Eureka cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $590K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $590K 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 2,570 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eureka | Eureka Public Library District | 20.0 | 51 | A− |
| Olio Township | Eureka Public Library District | 20.0 | 51 | A− |
| Cruger Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
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 Eureka
Does Eureka have a public library?
Yes. Eureka Public Library District, 202 South Main Street, serves 6,553 people in and around Eureka (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Eureka Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Eureka’s library?
It logged 11.4 visits and lent 20.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Eureka’s civic life grade?
A− Eureka is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life, #90 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 Eureka.
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.