Pearl City’s library runs 19 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Pearl City Public Library District serves 2,432 people in and around Pearl City. Last year it lent 5,920 print books and media and logged 5,044 visits.
What Pearl City’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Pearl City Public Library District sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 54% 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; Pearl City Public Library District serves 2,432 people in and around Pearl City, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Pearl City’s civic life grade
Pearl City 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 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Pearl City Public Library District serves 2,432 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Pearl City Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
5,920 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 Pearl City’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
47 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
Pearl City Public Library District, 221 South Main Street, Pearl City.
Good at every Pearl City Public Library District branch.
New in Pearl City? The Handbook →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 Pearl City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $112K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $109K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $112K 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 301 cardholders ÷ 12.
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. Pearl City Public Library District serves 2,432 people in and around Pearl City, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Pearl City.
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 Pearl City
Does Pearl City have a public library?
Yes. Pearl City Public Library District, 221 South Main Street, serves 2,432 people in and around Pearl City (the survey’s count) and is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pearl City Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Pearl City’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 2.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Pearl City’s civic life grade?
Pearl City 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 Pearl City.
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.